The Land Before Time: A Journey of a Forgotten Past
by Queen Glory of RainWings
Summary: After her dad reveals why her mom and sisters never made it to The Great Valley, Cera heads into The Mysterious Beyond in search of where they died. Although it will be a perilous and lonely journey, Cera knows she must seek closure. But with sharpteeth lurking around every corner, Cera may wind up sharing her family's fate… (Title suggested by Protonix.)
1. Prologue

**Author's note:** Well, I recently got back into The Land Before Time series after I heard about the fourteenth movie (which was pretty good) but after I re-watched all of the movies and the TV series, I noticed how Cera has never been the main protagonist in a movie or episode of the TV series, while Littlefoot, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, Chomper, and even Ruby have been the main focus of a movie or episode at least once. That realization is what served as the inspiration for this fanfic I'll be writing.

If I stick to my plans, this will be a more serious story, maybe even with some tragic scenes in it, more akin to the first movie and sequels such as _Journey through the Mists_ , _The Mysterious Island_ , _The Stone of Cold Fire_ , and _The Great Longneck Migration_ , but with even less humor than those examples. Not much else to say, so here's the first chapter.

* * *

 **Prologue**

The world was a much different and more dangerous place today eighty million years ago than it was today. Most places they traveled, leaf-eating dinosaurs had encounters with sharpteeth. Encounters that usually ended badly for lone dinosaurs or small herds.

The luckier dinosaurs made it to The Great Valley, where there was more than enough food for them all and, most importantly, there were no sharpteeth. The mountains that surrounded The Great Valley did not hinder leaf eaters from entering, but they did make it next to impossible for Sharpteeth to find a way in.

That was not to say that dinosaurs of The Great Valley hadn't had their share of misfortunes in their utopia. Forest fires, swarms of locusts, droughts, and even thankfully uncommon intrusions of sharpteeth through previously unknown entrances into The Great Valley. Entrances that had been sealed off with rocks to prevent such things from happening again. Still, most residents of The Great Valley said they were fortunate enough that no one had died in any of those Sharpteeth encounters.

There was a young Longneck by the name of Littlefoot who knew firsthand the tragedy of losing a loved one to Sharpteeth. In his first month of life, his mother died from injuries inflicted by a monstrous Sharptooth while protecting him and a Threehorn called Cera from said Sharptooth. But Littlefoot had avenged his mother along with Cera and other friends he made on the way to The Great Valley by sinking Sharptooth into a pond with a boulder.

Littlefoot lived with his grandparents and didn't know he had a father until the previous spring. His father, whose name was Bron, had left what is now called "The Mysterious Beyond" before Littlefoot was even an egg to find a safer home for them all. But when he returned, an Earthquake had destroyed everything. He didn't learn of what happened Littlefoot's mother until he met the very dinosaur, Rooter, who had consoled Littlefoot after his mother's death. But Rooter hadn't had any word on what happened to Littlefoot after they parted ways. Littlefoot only happened to meet his father when he and hundreds of other longnecks had migrated to a distant valley in the Mysterious Beyond. Littlefoot had almost left to live with his father, but decided to stay in The Great Valley at the last minute, knowing he couldn't just leave his grandparents or friends. Bron understood; he'd bring his herd over to The Great Valley for a visit every few minutes when it was possible.

Littlefoot's closest friends were Cera the threehorn, Ducky the swimmer, Petrie the flyer, Spike the spiketail, Chomper the sharptooth, and Ruby the fast runner. When they first meet him, most wonder how Littlefoot and his friends (other than Ruby, who was born in The Mysterious Beyond not far from The Great Valley) could be friends with a sharptooth, especially when it was a sharptooth that killed Littlefoot's mother. Until someone explained that Chomper was inadvertently saved from egg stealers as an egg and later raised by Littlefoot and his friends until Chomper's parents had come looking for their son. Chomper and his parents later returned the favor by saving Littlefoot and his friends' lives from another sharptooth on the island they had become stranded on while the herds had left The Great Valley to look for a new temporary home after locusts had made it inhabitable for them all.

After the land bridge that had been sunk by the earthquake re-appeared from under the ocean, Chomper and his parents left the island. That was when they met Ruby's family and came to good terms with them, even letting Chomper spend time with Ruby, thinking it was good for him. Ruby was intelligent, especially for her age, and Chomper's parents had thought it would be good for Ruby to share her knowledge with their son. But because of the common enemy they shared in Red Claw and his fast biter followers Screech and Thud, Ruby and Chomper were separated from their families, and later came to live in The Great Valley. Ruby had only seen her family once since being separated (they lived at a distant mountain in The Mysterious Beyond called "Hanging Rock") but Chomper hasn't seen his parents since that day.

Still, Chomper figured he was fortunate enough that the majority of, if not all, of The Great Valley's residents had come to accept Chomper as if he'd always been one of their one. (Technically, he was, since Chomper was born in The Great Valley and briefly raised by five of its residents.) Even Cera's father, who was usually not so quick to hear anything about sharpteeth, had come to like Chomper, despite having lost relatives to sharpteeth before finding The Great Valley.

Ruby and Chomper gasped as they disappeared into the nearest bush at the same time. They were thankfully to have found any hiding place after the others took the best ones, but Chomper thought a bush wasn't the best place to hide during a game of hide-and-seek.

But there was something that Chomper hadn't noticed while Ruby did. She turned tail to part the back of the bush, revealing a small opening into the secret caverns, where both Ruby and Chomper had been allowed to live since they had no proper family in The Great Valley. (Although both Littlefoot and Ducky's families had offered to take them in, Ruby and Chomper had said they wouldn't want to be a burden for them.)

"This is our real hiding place," Ruby explained. "Cera will never think to look for us here."

"Let's hope so," Chomper said with a nervous smile. "Cera's the best at this game, at both hiding from and finding us." He followed Ruby into the tunnel and crouched down by her side.

It was a tight squeeze, but at least this tunnel was a good place to hide. Like Ruby had said, Chomper could now understand why Cera probably wouldn't think to hide or look here during a game of hide-and-seek. That was saying something; as long as they had been in The Great Valley, no one had out-done Cera at this game. Some could say that hide-and-seek was Cera's game.

Ruby and Chomper nearly gasped when they saw Cera stick her head out from a bush at the other end of the clearing. They suppressed the urge, knowing that any sound they make could give away their hiding spot to Cera.

The threehorn looked around the area, then down at her feet. It was not long before she noticed a few sets of sharptooth and fast runner footmarks heading toward a cluster of bushes…

 _Then circling back?_ Cera thought to herself.

She thought about it for a minute, but Cera realized this was Chomper and Ruby's attempting at confusing her into searching somewhere else for them. But it wasn't that easy to trick someone like Cera. Their attempt was what gave Cera an idea of where they were hiding. Silently, the threehorn tiptoed over to the bushes where the foot marks went.

"Think she fell for our trick?" Chomper wished. He and Ruby couldn't see Cera anymore.

"Nope!" a familiar voice said. It wasn't Ruby…

Cera's head shot into their hiding place suddenly. Chomper and Ruby first screamed in surprise, then the three began laughing.

"That's why I'm the best at this game!" Cera gloated. She backed out of the bush. Chomper and Ruby followed her. "No trick is good enough to stop me from seeking someone out."

"Have you found the others yet?" Chomper asked.

"Not yet," said Cera, "but I will. There's not a place in The Great Valley they've hidden before that I haven't found them hiding at yet."

Cera turned to head off in the opposite direction to continue seeking out her other friends when she, Chomper, and Ruby heard a familiar voice that made them all stop where they were.

"Cera!"

 _Oh…now what?_ Cera thought. It was like her father couldn't leave her alone for one minute ever since the two horns above her brows first sprouted. That was one thing about her dad that had never changed: The older Cera got, the more he seemed to follow her around. Cera couldn't wait until she found a boy threehorn she loved just so she'd have an excuse to move out of the nest. She couldn't understand how Tria put up with her dad.

Cera started going again, hoping to make it seem as if she hadn't heard her father calling. He didn't fall for it.

"Cera," Topps said again. "There's something we must talk about—"

Cera spun around. "If it's about my choice of friends just because I'm best friends with a sharptooth, you can stop right there. I don't want to hear anything you have to say about Chomper."

Topps ignored her tone. He wasn't here to scold Cera about her choice of friends or her behavioral changes. This was more important.

"Cera, this has nothing to do with your friends," he said. "I want you to come back to the nest. It's important."

* * *

"What is so important that you think you must drag me away from my friends when we're having fun to tell me?" Cera asked her dad with a sarcastic bite.

Topps wasn't sure how to answer his daughter. What he wanted to tell her made him feel guilty that he hadn't told Cera soon, even if it had been with good intentions that he hadn't.

"Cera…" Topps began with uncertainty. "I think it's time you need to hear this." The bitter, annoyed expression on Cera's face changed to one of worry. She'd never seen her father, a bit of a loud mouth, so nervous to say something before. _Something_ must _be wrong,_ she thought. _Really wrong._

"Yes…?" Cera asked.

"I haven't been completely honest with you," he went on. "I know what fate befell your mother and sisters on the way to The Great Valley. I always have…" Cera gasped; her eyes grew wide with shock. She couldn't believe where this was going. "When Pterano convinced half of the herd that he would get them to The Great Valley faster, your mother was among those who believed him. And because he'd had a falling out over my views on longnecks at the time, she took your sisters with her.

"She was with the part of the herd following Pterano when he led them into that canyon. Pterano later told us that only he survived—and that he saw the fast biters surrounding your mother and sisters before he flew off. He remembered hearing their screams, but he never looked back…"

"D-Dad…" Cera stammered. "I can't believe you! Littlefoot's grandpa told my friends and I Pterano's story over a year ago. How could you wait all this time to tell me this when you always knew?'

"Cera, I—"

Cera turned tail. She didn't want her dad to see her in tears. "I don't want to hear anything else you have to say," Cera sobbed. "You've done enough for one day. I just want to be alone…"

"Cera, please—" Topps pleaded.

"I hate you!" Cera snapped. "Just leave me alone!"

Cera ran off, ignoring her father's desperate pleas for her to hear him out. She didn't even glance back; Cera couldn't stand the sight of her dad right now. He'd broken her spirit, something that happened only one other time in her life. On their way to The Great Valley. Cera was attacked by three territorial domeheads. The others scared them away and saved Cera, but when she realized that she had led Ducky, Petrie, and Spike the wrong way and nearly got them killed, Cera lost her reason to go on and she'd stayed behind in the cave to weep. Cera felt that same way now as she ran, not thinking about where she would go.

Cera ignored anyone and everyone who tried to stop her to ask what was wrong, until she reached the edge of the bubbling goo surrounding the sheltering grass. Cera looked down first, then she carefully jumped rock-from-rock until she was at the other side.

Her dad would never think to look for her, or anyone, at the sheltering grass. No one would since Cera and her friends all nearly lost their lives here when they were young, but were saved by Littlefoot's grandfather before it was too late. But just to be sure, Cera went on into the taller grass to get out of sight. There, Cera lay down; she buried her face in her front legs.

Cera didn't understand it. Why would her father wait all this time to tell her why her mom and sisters never made it to The Great Valley with them? That wasn't something a dad should keep secret from his daughter. At first, Cera thought may be her dad believed he'd been doing what he thought was best for her, but she decided against that. If he did want what was best for her, then her dad would have told her what he did sooner, not wait until she's growing the horns on her forehead!

Of all the things her head could have done to make her feel hate toward him, this was something Cera never would have predicted. She would have expected her father to try and isolate her from Littlefoot or Chomper before he would withhold information like this from her. What kind of dad could do that to his daughter? She was all he'd had up until Topps was reunited with Tria and they had a daughter, Tricia.

The usually strong-willed threehorn cried herself, literally, to sleep.

* * *

 **Author's note:** I'll point out that the title being "The Land Before Time XV" is only temporary until I think of a proper and good title for this story. Also note that this is my first actual The Land Before Time fanfiction, so I'll be trying my best to keep all of the characters in character and behave realistically to how they acted in the movies, while also showing some character development on top of that.


	2. Tough Decisions

**Chapter 1:**

 **Tough Decisions**

Cera awoke later the next morning than she had intended to. The Bright Circle was already at its highest point in the sky. She couldn't believe she had slept half the morning away already!

Cera stretched before she got up from the bed of grass. Her eyes were red from all the crying she had done the previous day, from this time yesterday up to after The Night Circle had risen into the sky. She'd always assumed something terrible happened to her mom and sisters due to having witnessed Sharptooth inflict the injury to Littlefoot's mother that claimed her life. Nonetheless, Cera never would have expected her own father to keep how they died a secret from her. At one point, she, Dinah, and Dana (Cera's niece and nephew) had been all the family her dad had left before Tria came back into his life.

 _How could he do something like this to me, his own daughter?_ Cera wondered to herself. _I've stayed with him all this time, through good and bad times, and this is what he does? I wish I'd never stayed with him!_ She stomped her foot on the ground, then tried blinking her tears away, but they came right back. Cera knew she couldn't just stop crying after what her dad told her.

Despite all the things her dad had and could have done to make her respect other species more than her own kind, Cera had become blind to different species. Unlike her father, Cera had come to view all dinosaurs as equal, even some sharpteeth in the case of Chomper and his parents, despite how her dad had tried (and thankfully, failed) to raise her. She loved her dad, but Cera secretly hoped there would never be another like him once he was gone. Up until he met Tria again, one of her dad had been enough to last two last times.

Cera had come to view longnecks, which her dad had once raised her to believe longnecks were the worst, next to sharpteeth of course, and that "threehorns NEVER played with longnecks." If she could choose, Cera would live with Littlefoot and his grandparents instead, even if it meant not seeing Tria and Tricia often. Cera loved Littlefoot like a brother, which was more than she could say about her dad for most of her life and even recently. Cera hated to feel this way, but it was the unfortunate truth, as much as she hated it to be. Her feelings for her dad had become so conflicted she didn't know what to think about him anymore.

Her dad's bigotry and segregationist views, even though he had not been that way any time recently, had made Cera sometimes wish she had been born a longneck instead of a threehorn, contrast to anything he had once clouded her mind. Despite all that, Cera had turned out to be a much more loving dinosaur than her father ever could be, but Cera wished she had never been like her dad. She still felt terrible for telling Littlefoot his mother was a "stupid longneck" when Cera would be dead if it hadn't been for her. A part of Cera could understand why her mom had followed Pterano instead, even if it was that decision that cost her and Cera's sisters their lives. At that time, death may have seemed like a better fate than living with her dad.

Cera looked at her reflection in the bubbling mud. She'd turned out to be a good-looking threehorn for her age. The horns on her forehead had also begun to grow, but Cera had changed more than just physically with age. She was an entirely different dinosaur than when she was a child. Cera never would have imagined she'd raise one sharptooth and later become good friends with a family of sharpteeth.

Cera wondered what her mom might have looked like as she stared at her reflection. She'd been so young the one time she saw her mom's face that she had no memories of what she looked like.

The threehorn sniffed. She wiped tears away with her paw again, but they flowed down her face again. Cera looked up, out across the valley at the mountains surrounding it.

Cera began to wonder if she should go beyond those mountains, which had kept them safe from sharpteeth and other dangerous of The Mysterious Beyond for years, to search for where her mom and sisters perished. The thing she was even more unsure about was if she should go it alone or let her friends know of her intentions. The Mysterious Beyond was the most dangerous place to be, whether in a large group or alone. She knew how going out into The Mysterious Beyond alone was the worst idea anyone could have, but Cera wouldn't want to put her friends in danger something she believed her, and her alone, and no one else had to do. This didn't involve them, but yet, Cera wasn't sure if she should risk The Mysterious Beyond alone. She could always tell Tria, but she didn't want to risk her family's lives either. Guido had been in The Mysterious Beyond most of his life as well, but he was also a friend and even more nervous than Petrie was.

Cera sighed. _Guess I'm on own here_ , she thought. _I can't put any of my friends or relatives' lives in danger over something I should do myself. I won't even ask anyone to come with me._

She couldn't bring herself to endangering her friends or family, what little family she had left, whether they wanted to come with her or not. Cera knew in her heart her friends would want to come with her, more likely than that, and that was why she couldn't tell any of them about this. Not even Petrie, who was good about keep secrets when he had to. She felt that he would not keep this a secret if he knew.

And especially _not_ her dad. Cera knew that him, more than anyone, could never know about her intentions. It was not that she thought he would stop her (okay, it was), but she couldn't tell him because she would be worried for her dad's safety. Sure, he was family, but she didn't want to drag him into this, even knowing he could handle himself better in The Mysterious Beyond than she could ever hope to, presently. Cera knew from past experiences she stood about as much chance out in The Mysterious Beyond on her own that a snowflake stood in Hell.

Cera had to make sure no one learned of her current whereabouts before she had a chance to leave. Sure, she was almost golden just by having hidden at the sheltering grass, but no one could expect to stay hidden if Chomper was looking for her. Chomper had an extraordinary sense of smell, even for a sharptooth. For that reason, Cera considered herself fortunate that it would be night soon. She knew they wouldn't search for her once it got dark out, no matter what her dad said. Cera would not have to wait until early morning, when she would leave before the others would awake to most likely continue their search. They wouldn't give up after one day, she thought.

 _I had better get to sleep now,_ she thought. _I'm sensing tomorrow will be a long day for me…_

Cera fell asleep quickly, but she would not sleep soundly tonight. She'd have sleep stories of fast biters and her family for half the night. They were sleep stories that woke her, screaming, several times, as much as she tried to not think about anything. Nothing prevented Cera from having these bad sleep stories, each being worse than the one before it.

Sometimes Cera would find herself in place of her mom and sisters, being hunted by and eventually caught, then eaten by the fast biters, gray ones with dark stripes down their backs, just like the ones described by Littlefoot's grandfather when he explained why Pterano wasn't trusted by many in The Great Valley. That would be the last sleep story she had tonight, after she woke up screaming for the umpteenth time.

Cera circled around, trying to forget the things she saw in her sleep stories, and then laid back down in a different spot about a foot away. Maybe a different sleeping spot would help, she thought. The sleep stories she'd had made Cera wish what she once said about threehorns not having sleep stories was true. No one wanted to have sleep stories about sharpteeth, especially not those like Cera who have lost most of their family to those cold-blooded killers.

Cera would soon fall back asleep, uneasily of course, and not have any more sleep stories. But she would not forget the ones she'd already had either.


	3. The Swamp

**Chapter 2:**

 **The Swamp**

Cera stared out across The Mysterious Beyond from atop the mountain range that separated The Great Valley from the dangers of the rest of the world. First, she saw a small swamp, which began not too far away from the bottom of the mountain. If Cera were to guess, she'd say it would take her half an hour to reach the other side. That is, if crossing the swamp went uninterrupted, which Cera doubted it would.

She had not forgotten about the last time she had to travel through a swamp. A giant belly dragger had attacker her, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike while following Littlefoot and the other migrating longnecks on what had come to be known as "The Great Longneck Migration", when they had been arguing about what rock to jump on next. The closest rock had turned out to be the belly dragger lying in wait to eat them when they would have jumped on its head. This was not the same swamp, but that didn't mean Cera wouldn't have to be any less cautious. She remembered the time belly draggers invaded The Great Valley. Cera assumed this was where some of them had come from. Her first experience with belly draggers told Cera they liked to lie in wait under water and appear to be a stone to hop on or ignore like the rest.

This time, Cera would be able to distinguish a belly dragger's head from a stone. If a stone or log had no moss growing on it, then it was likely a belly dragger in hiding. It was not until the threehorn found her way to the edge of the swamp that she realized there weren't very many stones or logs to jump across to the other side. The way the mucky swamp water bubbled and smelled made Cera shudder. Just the thought of having to step foot in it made her skin crawl. But it looked like she wouldn't have much choice about the matter.

"I hate swamps," Cera grumbled to herself as she hopped onto the only rock she could see, "and bubbling mud…" She looked all around again but still, she saw no other rocks or logs to jump on. None within jumping distance of her current spot anyway.

"Fantastic," she sighed. Cera had hoped she wouldn't have to swim in any swamp water or bubbling mud, but it was looking more and more like she had no other choice but to now.

The threehorn rather cautiously dipped one foot into the swamp and immediately a chill went down her spine. The water was comfortable and slimy to the touch, and she couldn't ignore the feeling, even though Cera knew she had better worry more about what creatures might be lurking just beneath the surface.

Cera soon found herself up to her shoulders in swamp water and unable to feel any ground beneath her feet. That told her she had better be careful, that she was treading through deep water and could drown if she didn't watch her step. Threehorns weren't the best swimmers, as opposed to fighters. The possibility of drowning remained at the back of her mind until she saw a rock nearby. She crawled up onto it, then shook herself dry as best she could.

She decided to rest here for a minute when it happened. The first thing Cera saw was a set of fangs coming toward her from a low tree branch she hadn't noticed, then heard aggressive hissing all around her. The sound was coming from the canopy above her head. Despite being exhausted, Cera dodged her attacker. She saw it when it hit the water headfirst: a snake! Another and then another three repeated the first snake's action, but none of them succeeded in biting Cera.

Cera screamed. She forgot all about being exhausted and jumped right into the water before swimming as fast a threehorn could for the shore. The four snakes, likely venomous based on their aggressive behavior toward her, swam after the threehorn, whom they considered to be invading their territory intentionally. (Which she was, but not with bad intention. Cera saw no other way to The Mysterious Beyond but crossing this swamp.) Soon Cera found herself hopping from rock-to-rock, carefully of course so she wouldn't fall back into the water and give those snakes a chance to catch her. Cera was not about to die, especially not so early into this journey! She kept a sharp eye out for belly draggers pretending to be rocks and other snakes that had yet to leap out from the canopy.

"Ahh!" Cera yelped just as she thought about that. A fifth snake launched itself from the canopy, and Cera almost felt its fangs pierce her head. She would have had she not swerved to the right slightly. As a result, Cera mistimed her next jump and went back into the water, but thankfully not in a way that slowed her down anyway. Still, her being in the water once again seemed to enrage the snakes even more.

Once she could see the shore getting closer with each stroke in the water, Cera knew she couldn't waste a minute getting there. If she did, this swamp would become her watery grave. Cera had a long ways to go, but she considered herself fortunate enough as it was. The snakes seemed to have given up their pursuit some minutes ago without her realizing.

 _I must've left their territory_ , she thought, then let out a heavy sigh of relief. Cera couldn't remember the last time she had been this thankful.

Cera may have gotten passed one danger, but she still had the rest of the swamp to cross. Only a brief stretch of land once she got on shore, but there was still the mucky lake she had to finish swimming. She was glad the snakes had given up, but still, Cera would rather have dry land to walk on, or at least some rocks to hope from until she reached the edge of the water. Who knew what other dangers, other than snakes and belly draggers, waited just beneath the surface for Cera to make a bad move?

Cera wished she never thought that when she heard wood splintering from only feet away. It was a sound that put her on high alert right away, remembering the last time she had heard such a sound in a swamp not unlikely this one. But there had been plenty of stepping stones in that swamp for her, Ducky, and Spike to hop on while Petrie had flown overhead. The opposite was true of this swamp. She had only seen one, maybe two, stones to hop on for the entire time she'd been here. That was probably the worst part about this entire swamp.

 _Fantastic_ , Cera thought, looking around as she paddled through the muck. _More swimming through this bubbling mud water._

She sighed, then continued ever cautiously wading through the water at a fast pace. When she could, Cera tried swimming faster, but it wore her out easily, so she eventually decided to swim at only a moderate pace instead. If she were attacked by a belly dragger, being exhausted was something she couldn't afford. Between her memory of those snakes and the belly dragger from the last time she went into a swamp, Cera felt on edge as she sank up to her shoulders in the slimy water. More so than she had thought before, Cera was starting to hate all swamps. The way the mud felt at the bottom of the water was what Cera couldn't stand the most, especially the way it squished between her toes as she walked through it. It was no wonder the water was so slimy, she thought. Still, Cera was a bit thankfully she could at least feel ground beneath her feet now instead of nothing.

Nonetheless, Cera knew she had better be more concerned about possible belly draggers, especially hungry or territorial ones, more than some mud between her toes. But Cera still had to admit the mud beneath her feet distracted her from being able to focus entirely on this swamp's dangers, even if some could kill her in a second if she wasn't careful where she walked. Cera knew belly draggers liked to hide under mud like this if they weren't pretending to be a rock or a log floating just at the water's surface.

Being distracted in a place like this was something Cera could _not_ afford to be, so she would try to tough it out and pray she make it through the swamp in one piece.

A loud splash made Cera nearly jump out of the water. She wasn't sure from what direction it came from, but Cera did know one thing for sure: only a belly dragger could make water splash that loudly.

There was only one thought on Cera's mind in this moment. Not the mud, not the water, and not even her reason for having left The Great Valley. All she thought about now was avoiding getting killed or eaten by some belly dragger. Forgetting that she had even been trudging through mud, Cera ran like no threehorn had ever run before. She would probably not make herself run as fast as she was again, even if she had to. Even a fast biter would have been impressed with how quickly Cera ran through the swamp water to the shore.

Cera found herself on dry land without even realizing where she had ended up at first. Looking back, she gasped when she couldn't see the swamp water behind her anymore. It was not until then that Cera screeched to a halt and decided to catch her breath. Running so far in such a short time had worn her out and make Cera wonder how fast biters could run like that for miles without breaking a sweat.

The threehorn lay down near a small berry bush. Not to eat, there were hardly any berries or green leaves on it to be eaten, but just to relax. Cera wasn't too concerned about belly draggers know. She knew they knew traveled too far in land. Belly draggers seemed to hunt better in water than on land, something Cera was thankfully for.

Cera had been told by her dad that there wasn't a belly dragger in the water, no matter how determined, that could catch a land walker on land, not even if that land walker had been through what Cera just was. They were called "belly draggers" for a reason: the way they walked on land, their bellies against the ground constantly, slowed them down to the point where it could be a hindrance on hunts or to their survival from another sharpteeth. But when it came to belly draggers hunting in water, there was almost nothing more dangerous than a hungry or territorial one. Except for a sharptooth mom defending her nest or hatchlings…

"I don't know how fast biters do it," Cera weakly spoke her previous thought aloud. She couldn't stop gasping for her. "Maybe I need more exercise when I get back to The Great Valley…" she laughed weakly.

Cera rested her head on her front legs, figuring a quick nap never killed anyone.

 _Hopefully_ , she thought, then dozed off. Cera would sleep slightly.


	4. Into the Mysterious Beyond

**Chapter 3:**

 **Into the Mysterious Beyond**

Tria never thought she would see Mr. Threehorn acting in this way. They had known each other since they were Cera's age and he'd always appeared to be in control of his emotions in any situation (and a bit hard-headed, but most male threehorns were stubborn), so seeing him acting so regretful over what he told Cera came as a shock to Tria. She was more surprised by how he was acting over knowing Cera was possibly by herself in The Mysterious Beyond, even though Cera and her friends had gone into The Mysterious Beyond without any adults more times than they could count.

Tria tried telling him Cera would be able to take care of herself just for that reason, but it didn't do any good. Mr. Threehorn only kept saying if anything bad happened to Cera, it would be his fault, and he'd never forgive himself. He would still have Tria and Tricia, but what would life be without Cera, his only living biological relative?

 _Not the same,_ Mr. Threehorn thought. He would be lost without Cera, he couldn't deny that. Up until he met Tria again, Cera was all he'd had in his life and he had been afraid of losing her. He still feared each day that he would lose Cera, Tria, and Tricia just like he'd already lost the rest of his family because of Pterano's poor leadership. (Something he would never forgive Pterano for, even if Pterano had finally changed for the better when he saved Ducky's life at Threehorn Peak.)

"Mr. Threehorn?" Grandpa Longneck asked. The threehorn shook his head. He hadn't realized that he wasn't paying attention, being too distracted by his thoughts of Cera.

"Uh," Mr. Threehorn said. "Sorry. I was thinking about Cera…"

Grandpa Longneck said no more. He and Grandma Longneck knew what Mr. Threehorn was going through. Littlefoot had once left The Great Valley by himself, when it had been plagued with usually bad luck, to fix Saurus Rock on his own. Ducky's mother, although she usually did not get along with Mr. Threehorn, could also sympathize with him. Ducky had also been alone in The Mysterious Beyond once, to look for Spike when he'd decided to go live with a herd of spiketails that had briefly spent time in The Great Valley.

"How can we hope to track Cera?" Mama Flyer asked. "No one has seen her since the bright circle was high in the sky two days ago. She could be far into The Mysterious Beyond by now, if that is where she has gone."

Grandpa Longneck sighed. "I have one idea," he said, "but none of you may like it." Everyone just stared at him. "Chomper can find her scent and lead us through The Mysterious Beyond before Cera goes too far."

"But Chomper hasn't even reached the Time of Great Growing yet!" Mr. Threehorn protested. "It would be too dangerous to bring him with us."

"You forget, Chomper may not have been born in The Mysterious Beyond, but he grew up there," said Grandma Longneck. "Chomper knows The Mysterious Beyond better than anyone, next to Ruby."

"And no one else in The Great Valley has a sense of smell as powerful as Chomper's is," Grandpa Longneck continued. "I dislike the thought of endangering the young ones as much as you do, but I'm afraid we don't have much choice, Mr. Threehorn."

Mr. Threehorn's head hung low. "I guess you're right," he agreed with some reluctance in his voice. "But we don't know where Cera went after she ran off from the nest."

"We'll find her," Mama Flyer said. "I promise. I'll gather together as many fliers as I can find and we'll search The Mysterious Beyond until the night circle has risen into the sky to find your daughter."

"And we'll search as far as we can on foot each day," Grandpa Longneck said.

"I'm coming with you," Mr. Threehorn said.

"Mr. Threehorn-" Grandpa Longneck began to protest.

"I don't want to hear it," he cut him off. "This is my daughter we're talking about it. I'm coming with you and that is final." Then he seemed sad again. "It's my fault we're having to do this anyway. Maybe I shouldn't have brought up what happened to her mom and sisters when I did…"

"You were doing what you thought was best for your daughter," Grandma Longneck whispered. "You can't blame yourself for Cera reacting naturally to such news." She paused. "Littlefoot acted just like this when he first learned he had a father."

"I guess you're right," he said. "But I still can't help but blame myself for Cera being all alone in The Mysterious Beyond. If something bad happens to her, I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself." Mr. Threehorn thought he was going to cry, but he tried to suppress the urge. He knew he couldn't let his emotions get the better of him too much if he was to be of any help for Cera.

"When do we leave?" Tria asked. She received only stares in response. "What?"

"Someone needs to stay with Tricia," Grandma Longneck said. "She's still young."

"I've already arranged someone to watch her," Tria said. She turned her attention to the nearest tree where a lone glider was perched. A tiny longneck was right beneath the branch. "Guido and Lizzy-" Lizzy was one of the Tinysauruses who lived in a section of the secret caverns with Chomper and Ruby, and one of Cera's closest friends. When Lizzy had heard Cera could be in trouble, she'd agreed to watch Tricia for her parents. "-said they would watch over Tricia for us."

"Guido and Lizzy?" Mr. Threehorn gasped. "But Tricia can run circles around them. No offense," he added.

"None taken," Guido and Lizzy said together. They actually agreed with him. But at least Tricia had been learning to listen to Guido after all the times he'd babysit Tricia for Mr. Threehorn and Tria. Tricia seemed to consider Guido an uncle of sorts by now.

"Then it is settled," Grandpa Longneck said.

And so the search for Cera began.

* * *

Chomper had his muzzle low to the ground, heading east from the threehorn family's nest. It was an old scent trail, but at least Chomper had somewhere to start.

He followed Cera's scent trail as far as the sheltering grass, where it abruptly ended at the edge. A confused look came over his face.

"Is something wrong?" Mr. Threehorn asked.

"Her scent," Chomper said. "It just ends here."

"Oh my," Tria gasped. "She must have hopped across the stones to hide in the sheltering grass."

"It's no wonder you and I couldn't find her," Mr. Threehorn said. "Cera never said anything about liking to hiding at the sheltering grass."

"Be careful, Chomper!" Tria warned. The young sharptooth was hopping from rock-to-rock. He'd picked up Cera's scent again and, once safe on the other side, he followed it through a trail in the tall grass to the other end of the small island. He went across the thin land bridge when his head to the ground, once again following Cera's scent trail. He stopped so the others could catch up with him.

"Cera's scent goes on forever this way," Chomper said.

"Oh no," Grandpa Longneck said. "I was afraid of this."

"She's gone to The Mysterious Beyond," Grandma Longneck said.

"What are we waiting for?" Mr. Threehorn said. "We know what way she went, let's keep going. The fliers are already ahead of us." He watched six fliers, Petrie's mother among them, disappear over the great rock wall that separated The Great Valley from The Mysterious Beyond and kept sharpteeth out of the valley. Chomper and the Tiny Sharpteeth were exceptions to sharpteeth not being allowed in The Great Valley. Chomper had promised he'd never harm any leaf eaters and, well, Tiny Sharpteeth mostly ate crawlers anyway. They were no larger than Tinysauruses, even grown-ups, so they couldn't harm any other Great Valley residents even if they wanted to. Sometimes the Tiny Sharpteeth were more peaceful than the larger residents of the valley.

Chomper seemed worried. Other than himself and the six fliers, the only Great Valley residents heading out to search for Cera, the group was made up of Littlefoot's Grandparents, Mr. Threehorn, Tria, and Ducky's mother. Would the five of them be enough to deal with any Sharpteeth? Mr. Threehorn was still a good fighter, but Grandpa and Grandma Longneck weren't exactly the youngest longnecks anymore. Fighting could be risky for them, Chomper feared. He didn't want Littlefoot to lose his grandparents too; he'd already suffered through losing his mother to Sharptooth. On top of that, he almost lost both his grandfather and father. It was not long too long ago when Bron almost lost his life at one of the smoking mountains.

Littlefoot, his friends (minus Chomper and Ruby), and a flyer called Etta, who'd come to live with them in The Great Valley, saved Bron's life at the last minute. Chomper didn't want his first friend to suffer any more tragedy in his life, especially not right after avoiding losing the father he'd only begun to truly know.

The group stopped at the top of the great wall. Cera's scent trail didn't stop there, but they saw no signs of Cera anywhere. Knowing the fastest way into The Mysterious Beyond was through the belly dragger-infested swamp, they feared for Cera's safety more than ever. She likely went through the swamp, Mr. Threehorn and the others feared.

"Oh dear," Mama Swimmer gasped. "I don't see Cera anywhere."

"Let us keep going," Grandpa Longneck said. "The bright circle is still high in the sky. If we are meant to find Cera today, now will be the best time."

"I agree," said Mr. Threehorn. "Cera thinks like the rest of us. Travel during the day, rest at night. It may not be the safest way to go about travel - Sharpteeth hunt more often during the day - but our eyes aren't made to see in the dark unfortunately."

And so the group began their descent down the side of the great wall. Grandpa and Grandma Longneck and Mr. Threehorn had to be especially careful; this was a dangerous thing to do for four-legged dinosaurs. Nonetheless, Mama Swimmer chose to be careful as well. It was unlikely she would trip and fall down the slope, but they couldn't afford any injuries so close to belly dragger territory.

Mama Swimmer was the first to reach the edge of the swamp. She waited there for the others to join her, albeit nervously. She had a strong fear of belly draggers and other swamp-dwellers. Not as much as she feared two-legged Sharpteeth though. At least the belly draggers that lived near The Great Valley couldn't run fast enough to catch her, she thought.

Grandpa Longneck sighed. "Oh my," he said. "I never considered this. We cannot cross the swamp, it is far too small for us to walk through."

"And I'm not going in there alone!" Mama Swimmer gasped. They already knew of her fear of belly draggers, so there was no need to ask any questions.

"There will be no need," Grandma Longneck said. "It will take longer, but we will go around the swamp."

Mama Swimmer sighed with relief. That was just what she had wanted to hear.

"I hope the fliers are having better luck with spotting Cera than we have been," Mr. Threehorn said. "Now Chomper can't even follow her scent trail."

"Have faith, Mr. Threehorn," Grandma Longneck said. "We'll find her."


	5. Cera's First Lonely Night

**Chapter 4:**

 **Cera's First Lonely Night**

Cera had never felt this alone before, except maybe after the great earthshake when she was only a baby threehorn and she'd been separated from her family with no way of re-uniting with them. She had been young and her mind tainted with her father's false beliefs back then, so Cera had never realized how being alone could make one feel so sad.

The loneliness she felt now made Cera feel like curling up and crying, but she knew that was not wisest thing to do in The Mysterious Beyond. Cera had not encountered any sharpteeth yet, but she'd heard the occasional roar or bark of a sharptooth or fast biter in the distance. As long as she didn't encounter any, Cera believed, she would be all right.

 _I hope..._ Cera thought. _I have no idea where I'm going._

Cera was not completely lost, though. She couldn't know use her instinct or memories to find her way, since this was not the way she and her friends had come to The Great Valley. Cera remembered something Littlefoot had told her that his mother once said to him: "Some things you see with your eyes, others you see with your heart". That was how Cera had to guide herself through this unfamiliar land and, to an extent, following the one wisdom the Yellow Bellies had: "Just feel it".

Forgetting everything she knew and just feeling things with her heart, contradictory to anything her dad had polluted her mind within the past, was the only way she would reach her journey's end. Cera hadn't been a faithful dinosaur when she grew up, but at her own Time of Great Growing, her view of the world changed immensely. She was noticeably less skeptical of things than she had been as a young dinosaur, such as believing Littlefoot's mother's statement "Some things you see with your eyes, others you see with your heart". That statement was also all Cera had to guide her right now. She feared she would be alone for this entire journey to wherever it was she was going and then back to The Great Valley.

Cera heard a rock clatter, but she figured it was just the wind. It had been blowing for most of the morning. She would have to beware of sand clouds. _Been there, done that,_ she thought, remembering when she and her friends had been heading out to rescue Littlefoot's dad. Just with the memory of that sand cloud, Cera could taste sand again. Sand was a taste dinosaurs could never forget. It had made Cera so thirsty she'd thought she would have drunk the next body of water they found up until there was no water left for anyone else.

She saw something scurry between some rocks out of the corner of her eye. It was so tiny and quick that she didn't see what it was for sure. Cera turned tail to investigate, cautiously approaching the rocks it had scurried between. She moved one of the stones away with her paw, which she retracted immediately, backed up a foot, and screamed. It was a jet-black ground crawler. Usually ground crawlers weren't dangerous, but Cera knew what kind of ground crawler it was when she saw the barb on the end of its tail. One sting from this ground crawler could be fatal.

Very slowly, just to not provoke the ground crawler any more than she may have already, Cera backed up. The ground crawler seemed to ignore Cera as she backed away from it. Then it disappeared into a hole in the ground. Cera let out a heavy sigh of relief. She was almost afraid to think about how many more close encounters she would have in his journey before she reached her destination.

"At least it wasn't a stinging buzzer," Cera said to herself.

If it had been a stinging buzzer, like the jet-black ones commonly found in deserts like where Cera was now, it would have likely given chase after the threehorn. Stinging buzzers showed no fear when threatened or defending their home from what they considered threats. They weren't even afraid of sail-backed sharpteeth, the largest of all sharpteeth known to leaf eaters, or ground crawlers that fed on stinging buzzers. Cera's favorite food was flowers, especially the yellow ones, but she would have to be wary when eating any because they were also a favorite food of stinging buzzers for the flower dust within them.

Cera's stomach growled. It sounded like a sharptooth growling, it was so loud. She hadn't seen anything to eat or drink since leaving The Great Valley. Cera's mouth was parched as if she'd gotten a mouthful of sand. She prayed water and food would turn up eventually, but The Mysterious Beyond seemed to favor sharpteeth over leaf eaters. There wasn't any green food, or water, as far as Cera could see in any direction. The Mysterious Beyond resembled some sort of hellscape with all its burning mountains, the deep underground from the earth shake that had separated Cera from her family years ago, broken skeletons of deceased dinosaurs, and bone-dry bushes everywhere. The ground was so dry that is was riddled with cracks no matter where Cera walked. She almost expected it to split open and swallow her up just like the deep underground had swallowed Sharptooth up when it was formed by the earthshake.

Some dinosaurs said that if The Great Valley was heaven for dinosaurs, then The Mysterious Beyond was Hell for dinosaurs, and sharpteeth were just there to torture any leaf eater unfortunate enough to be alone in The Mysterious Beyond.

Cera still hadn't found a place to sleep safely for the night. If safety even existed in The Mysterious Beyond! It was no wonder Chomper's parents had wanted Ruby to bring Chomper to The Great Valley to be safe from the dangers of this place. The Mysterious Beyond wasn't a place Cera would want anyone condemned to, except for the worst of dinosaurs like those two egg stealers who stole an egg from Ducky's nest not long after Cera, Littlefoot, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike found The Great Valley. The last time any of them had seen those two, Chomper's parents were chasing them out of The Great Valley for harming Chomper. Cera hoped they were eaten, she really did. She felt that egg stealers didn't deserve to live or even exist. They were worse than sharpteeth, Cera believed. Sharpteeth were meat eaters, sure, but at least they didn't steal eggs from other dinosaurs' nests. They had some noble qualities about them, unlike egg stealers. Cera had finally learned that after Littlefoot risked his life to save Chomper when they were stranded on that island. Chomper's parents had promised to not harm Cera and her friends after what Littlefoot did. She just wished Chomper could see his parents again like Ruby had. He hadn't seen them again for as long as he'd been living in The Great Valley.

Cera noticed that the great circle was beginning to disappear. It would be dark out soon and even more dangerous to travel than it was during the day. Unlike some sharpteeth, mostly fast biters, threehorns couldn't see very well at night. Cera would become even easier prey for sharpteeth once the night circle rose if she didn't find somewhere to hide before it was dark out.

 _Maybe this wasn't the greatest idea_ , Cera thought. _What was I thinking, coming out into The Mysterious Beyond like this and thinking it would be easy? I can't even find a safe place to-_

Cera stopped at that. Maybe her last thought would not be true. She saw an opening in the side of a rock formation while she walked. It was small, but maybe it was a large enough opening that Cera would be able to fit into it. She approached the opening cautiously, not knowing if any small sharpteeth or ground crawlers already called it home. To be sure, Cera kicked a nearby stone into the opening. The only thing she heard was the stone hitting the back of the tunnel. That told her it was empty.

Cera peeked in, but it was too dark to see anything. She turned around and crawled in the tunnel rear-first. Her tail touched the back not long after she was entirely in the tunnel. This was the safest Cera had felt for as long as she'd been in The Mysterious Beyond. The tunnel was too small for any dangerous sharpteeth, even fast biters, to get in, and Cera was far enough back into it that even if a sharptooth knew she was here, it wouldn't be able to reach her no matter how hard it tried.

There was one thing this safe location didn't do for her, however. She didn't feel any less lonely. At this point, Cera would consider a ground crawler or stinging buzzer good company even if they couldn't talk to each other. Cera couldn't remember the last time she had felt so alone before. More than anyone, she missed Littlefoot and Ducky. Cera almost thought about how she wished one of them had come with her, but she cleared her mind of such thoughts. As she'd thought countless times in the past few days, Cera couldn't endanger her friends over this. There was no cure for loneliness but being with someone. Cera knew that, but the only someones in this hellscape were sharpteeth, and leaf eaters couldn't just make friends with any random sharptooth without having some sort of death wish.

Cera sighed, then rested her head on her paws. She watched the great circle disappear over the horizon. The barks of fast biters become more common as it got darker out. It was a sound that sent chills down Cera's spine right to the end of her tail. The barks of fast biters weren't something someone forgot once heard.

And for Cera, it would be nightmare fuel. Since she had once almost been killed by a fast biter called Thud who had broken into The Great Valley with another, Screech, after the Tinysauruses were trapped in their cave due to an earthshake, Cera had developed a strong fear of fast biters. She'd stared down Thud's throat and would have felt his teeth in her neck if it hadn't been for Tria intervening at the last minute. Tria wasn't a fighter, but she'd forgotten all about that in that moment.

Cera sighed. She waited for sleep to come and attempted ignoring the barks of fast biters while she did. But that was easier said than done. They must be on a hunt, Cera assumed. Thinking that, Cera hoped she wouldn't have any encounters with them through the night, even if they couldn't reach her. Cera just wanted to sleep peacefully for once.

* * *

 **Author's note:** Before anyone else says "But Screech and Thud didn't appear until the TV series," my mention of them being in The Land Before Time 11 in this chapter is a reference to how the Utahraptors in LBT11 greatly resemble Screech and Thud, and the theory that it may have actually been them.


	6. Fast Biters

**Chapter 5:**

 **Fast Biters**

Cera made it through the night. She was thankful enough for still being alive, given she was in the middle of the Mysterious Beyond. She'd also slept better than she had expected to, considering that she had to deal with the barks of fast biters on a hunt half the night. Her ears were still ringing from it.

"Mmm," Cera groaned. _Morning already?_ she thought. It wasn't the worst night of sleep she'd head, but it was hardly the best either.

Cera laid there for a minute. Her mind was filled with thoughts of Littlefoot and her other friends, and her family, and how worried they must be about her right now. A part of her hoped they were looking for her. Cera felt so alone that she wanted to cry. She finally got up and peaked out of the tunnel to be sure there were no fast biters in the area still before she emerged from it. The great circle seemed brighter than usual, she thought. Probably due to being in that dark during before the night circle had risen.

 _Maybe I shouldn't be doing this,_ Cera thought. So far, she'd almost lost her life two times that she could remember. A part of Cera wanted to give up and just go back to The Great Valley, but at the same time, she didn't want to. This may be the only chance she'd ever have to see her biological mother and sisters again, even if it'd only be their skeletal remains now.

Cera shook her head. She tried clearing her mind of any doubts she had. The threehorn knew that, no matter how bad things may seem, she must stay as optimistic as possible. That was what Littlefoot would say if he were here. He always had tried to keep his friends' morale in the past. Cera realized her low morale had to be due to Littlefoot not being here to cheer her up and keep her going. But it would have been selfish for her to bring Littlefoot on this journey with her just to keep her morale high. If something bad ever happened to any of her friends and she was to blame, Cera would never forgive herself.

She sighed. _I must keep going,_ Cera thought. _I've come this far, I can't just give up now after everything that has happened._ A determined look came over Cera's face. She hadn't looked this determined in days. Cera figured she was ready to continue her journey now, but she couldn't stop thinking about how worried everyone must be about her. She wondered if anyone was looking for her or even knew if she had left The Great Valley. Cera had tried too hard to make sure no one would be able to follow her. Even if she'd done that for her friends and family's safety, a part of Cera regretted that. What if she couldn't find her way back to The Great Valley later and no one from The Great Valley could find her because of how hard she tried to not leave any?

Cera didn't want to think anymore about that. Having to live in The Mysterious Beyond for the rest of her life with no friends or family, or anyone to even talk to, was the worst fate anyone could suffer. Sharpteeth would rather eat Cera and pick their teeth with her bones than talk to her. The only sensible sharpteeth, Cera assumed, were Chomper and his parents. If it came to it, Cera guessed she could live with Chomper's parents if she never found her way back to The Great Valley. Assuming she could find them. Chomper, of all dinosaurs, didn't even know where his parents were in The Mysterious Beyond. He hadn't seen them since the day Red Claw, Screech, and Thud separated Ruby from her family.

 _Where now?_ Cera wondered. She wasn't in any region of The Mysterious Beyond she recognized. Cera didn't remember ever being in a region of The Mysterious Beyond littered with so many skeletons of other dinosaurs before. The only landmark Cera did recognize was the great divide in the land, formed by the earthquake that separated Cera and her friends from their families, but that stretched for so many miles that she couldn't rely on it for trying to figure out where she was.

The threehorn began to head right down a trail, but not even a minute later, she began to feel uneasy, as if something was following her. She sensed something was just over the nearby hill. Cera wanted to hope it was one of her friends somehow following her, but she knew better. She doubted even Chomper, who was well known for his sense of smell, could track her, as much as she hated to think such a thing right now.

A low growl told Cera what it was.

"S-Sharptooth," she gasped lowly.

Cera turned to go to the other side of the trail so she would not be noticed by the sharptooth on the other side of the hill. But before she could, Cera saw it. No, she saw _them_. First one, then another, and then another after that until five fast biters stood at the hill. With a look of horror on her face and her heart beating like it had never beaten before, Cera began backing away toward the dead bushes. She'd hoped she would be able to hide before the fast biters saw her, but Cera was not quick enough. The fast biter at the front of the group saw her. Cera ran off when it alerted the others of her presence.

Before Cera had a chance to realize what was going on, she had five fast biters on her tail, their jaws dripping with saliva and hungry looks on their faces. Cera ran up a sandy cliff side, hoping it would slow the fast biters down. It did, but Cera felt her heart sink when she saw where the cliff side led her.

"Oh no!" Cera gasped. A dead end—literally! One by one, the fast biters crawled up onto the ledge.

Cera backed away and the fast biters followed. She soon found herself cornered at the edge of the plateau, the only thing behind her now a drop off. Cera had nowhere to go. She looked behind her and then back at the fast biters that were only feet away. Cera didn't know what to do. Jump and possibly break a leg then be eaten by another sharptooth later, or be eaten by fast biters now? Cera saw nothing that would cushion her fall if she did jump off the cliff.

Cera made her decision. She wasn't about to let some rockheads have her for breakfast! Screaming her head off, the threehorn jumped. She closed her eyes, expecting to feel her bones breaking any minute now. But she wouldn't. Cera heard a splash, then felt water all around her all of a sudden. She opened her eyes. She'd landed in a lake! Her luck couldn't get any better. Cera hadn't drunk any nice, cold water since leaving The Great Valley. And even better: where there was water, there was green food!

She swam to the surface, then crawled onto the shore to drink to her heart's content. Cera didn't want to stop drinking ever. She drank the water like it was something she had never tasted before. When Cera had drunk her fill of water, she turned her attention to the bushes. There weren't any flowers or sweet bubbles, but how could Cera complain when she hadn't eaten a proper meal in days? Her stomach was aching, she was so hungry.

Cera took a mouthful of leaves from the bush and gulped them down. Usually she criticized Spike for how he ate, but in this moment, Cera ate more quickly than Spike ever ate. By the time she was done, the bush had been almost striped of leaves. A few leftover leaves fell to the ground, but Cera did not go after them. She'd eaten her fill. It had been a good-sized bush before Cera ate most of its leaves.

The fast biters were still watching Cera from the plateau. They seemed unable of accepting the fact that they had no way of reaching her now. They barked, snarled, and made all sorts of other sounds, but Cera only laughed quietly. She thought those fast biters were only succeeding at making fools of themselves. Still, Cera figured she'd better get moving before they do realize they could safely reach her by jumping like she had.

"Stupid rockheads," Cera muttered. Usually Cera would not use such insults toward other species, but sharpteeth were an exception as long as Chomper was not there to hear her say "rock head", the worst thing someone could call a sharpteeth, fast biters in particular.

Cera would never forget the time she called Red Claw a "rock head" without realizing Chomper was behind her. She'd tried to explain she would never say such a thing about Chomper or his parents, but Chomper had been understandably upset nonetheless. It took convincing from Ruby to get Chomper to believe what Cera had said about she'd never insult him. This was in part due to how Cera had reacted to Chomper when she and their other friends had been stranded on the island where Chomper used to live with his parents. She'd been paranoid that Chomper had become like any other sharptooth after he left The Great Valley as a baby, and that he would eat them the first chance he got. Cera even went as far as to blame Chomper for Ducky's disappearance, when a sharpbeak flyer had actually been responsible after Ducky took a wrong turn from the group in a forest.

Still, Chomper and his parents being different from other sharpteeth would never change Cera's feelings about sharpteeth like Red Claw, Screech, and Thud. They would always been nothing more than heartless killers to her unless they can be good like Chomper and his parents had. Cera thought it was fitting that dinosaurs of The Great Valley described The Mysterious Beyond as a "hellscape". Just like all Great Valley residents agreed most Sharpteeth belonged in a place like the Mysterious Beyond during life, they belonged in a place like Hell after death, Cera thought. With the exception of Chomper and his parents, and only them since Cera did not know any other good sharpteeth yet, did not deserve to go anywhere else. Sure, they needed to eat other dinosaurs to stay alive and Cera had no problem with that, but all the sharpteeth Cera had encountered in the past showed no heart when they hunted by not being against the idea of killing young dinosaurs or those who can't defend themselves. The Sharptooth who killed Littlefoot's mother was one Cera would never be able to erase her memories of.

More so than Sharptooth himself, Cera would never forget seeing Sharptooth tearing Littlefoot's mother's back apart and her blood splattering on the rock wall just above her and Littlefoot. Cera had been so young when that happened that it was impossible for her to forget everything that happened because of Sharptooth. What happened to Littlefoot's mother was a memory that had been burned into her mind.

The threehorn was not exactly sure what way to go. She had been doing what the Yellow Bellies would do, just follow her instinct, and traveling east instead of west. When the dinosaurs had migrated to The Great Valley, they traveled west through The Mysterious Beyond. Cera knew that, eventually, she should reach her destination if she does the opposite.

 _I hope_ , Cera thought.


	7. Losing Hope

**Chapter 6:**

 **Losing Hope**

"She was here," Mr. Threehorn said. "Those are footmarks of a young threehorn."

Chomper sniffed the footmarks in question just to be sure. He confirmed that Cera's scent was all over the footmarks. But then he said, "But I can't tell which way she went from here. It's like she went in circles before deciding on what way to go."

"Have the fliers spotted Cera yet?" Tria asked.

Petrie's Mother and Etta landed on either side of the threehorns.

"I'm afraid we haven't," Petrie's Mother said.

"Just more footmarks," said Etta. "They're all over the area."

"Chomper," Grandpa Longneck said. "Do you think you can determine what way Cera could have gone?"

"I think," Chomper said. He began smelling the ground again, going East as he did. A surprised look came over his face. "She went this way!" he gasped. Chomper was positive about that; her scent went further this way than it did in any other direction.

"Then let's get going," Mr. Threehorn said. "We must find her before she gets into trouble." _If she hasn't already_ , he thought. _This is the Mysterious Beyond after all._

Chomper kept his muzzle low to the ground to follow Cera's scent trail while he could. The way the wind was blowing sand, it could be covered up any time now. Petrie's Mother and Etta took flight when the others started to follow Chomper. The fliers noticed how worried Mr. Threehorn and Tria were. In addition to Cera's footmarks, there were also sharpteeth footmarks going in the same direction. Not of fast biters thankfully, but the leaf eaters had reason to be worried nonetheless.

Chomper warned them the footmarks belonged to a sail-backed sharptooth. Sail-backed sharpteeth were the most aggressive and determined of all sharpteeth. They would do almost anything and do through any amount of trouble to catch prey and not give up until either they succeeded or were injured too badly to hunt anymore. Some didn't give up then and those often died without making a kill.

"Just what we needed," Mr. Threehorn grumbled. "The most violent kind of sharpteeth. Could things get any w-" Everyone looked at him. He stopped there, knowing everyone someone asked "Could things get any worse?", it always did soon after.

Seeing a threehorn's skeleton, burned white by the great circle, sent chills through Mr. Threehorn and Tria's bones. The thought of it being Cera crossed their minds, as much as they tried being optimistic that she was still alive, even though it was a grown-up threehorn. Their worst fear was that Cera would die and they would never see her again, that their attempt to bring her back to The Great Valley would be in vain. The only positive thought either of them had was Cera knew how to stay alive in the Mysterious Beyond, having done it countless times before.

"Cera's fine," said Grandma Longneck. "She knows how to get around in the Mysterious Beyond."

"I know, I know," Mr. Threehorn said. "But we can't help but worry that something bad happened to her and she's in danger. Those footmarks of a sail-backed sharptooth don't help matters any," he added.

Chomper gasped all of a sudden. "I think Cera's around the bend!" he said. "Her scent is stronger than ever just over there." Chomper was the first to run off, much to the concern of the adults.

Without exchanging words, Petrie's Mother and Etta followed him to ensure he didn't get into too much trouble. But when the three came around the bend, their hopes were crushed. They hope Mr. Threehorn and Tria didn't catch up with them too quickly.

"Oh no," Etta said.

"She isn't here…" Chomper said.

"Her parents will be a wreck now," said Petrie's mother.

"I wish I didn't open my mouth until we knew for sure…" Chomper said.

"Oh, honey," Etta said. She wrapped a wing around him. "You couldn't have known for sure. Don't blame yourself. Cera probably was here recently is all."

"Cera?" They heard Mr. Threehorn call. "Did you find Cera?"

The rest of the group appeared around the bed. When Mr. Threehorn and Tria saw Cera wasn't with Chomper or the fliers, looks of despair came over their faces. Mr. Threehorn was especially upset. Not with Chomper, but over the fact that they had all gotten their hopes so high that they thought Cera would be found only for them to be crushed quickly.

"We'll never find Cera," Mr. Threehorn said sadly. "We're just finding places where she hasn't been for days!"

Chomper felt guilty. He believed Mr. Threehorn wouldn't be feeling that way if he hadn't led them into believing she was here when she actually wasn't.

"It's my fault," Chomper said.

This time, Petrie's mother wrapped her wings around Chomper in a hugging fashion. She told him, just as Etta had, it wasn't his fault that they hadn't found Cera yet. "Shhh," she said. "Don't blame yourself for all of this. You couldn't have known, Chomper."

Then Petrie's mother turned to Mr. Threehorn. "As for you," she said. "I wish you could go without being so negative just once!"

The others gasped. Petrie's mother was usually soft-spoken, but she could stand up to others when she needed to, so this itself did not come as a surprise, but her speaking so harshly to Mr. Threehorn did.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Threehorn asked. He snorted.

"You heard me," she continued. "This is your daughter we're talking about and you have no hope that we'll find her. You should be optimistic that we'll find Cera. What kind of father are you, not to be?"

Mr. Threehorn didn't know how to respond. He only looked at the ground. "Just what I figured," Petrie's mother said. "You're a terrible father and you know as well as I do you always have been."

The rest of the group gasped again. Petrie's mother had never acted like this before, except toward her brother after he nearly got Littlefoot and his friends killed by Rinkus and Sierra at least twice.

Grandpa Longneck stepped toward. "I think it would be best if we drop the subject," he said. "We can't afford to argue here. It could attract sharpteeth."

Petrie's mother sighed. "You're right," she said. Then she apologized to Mr. Threehorn for how she reacted, even though a part of her still felt she was right because of his past behavior. She remembered Cera's mother before Tria not getting along with him all that well. In fact, shortly before the great earthshake that had separated the children from their parents and wiped out large parts of the herds, Cera's mother and Mr. Threehorn had gotten into an argument over him telling their children "Threehorns never play with longnecks" all the time.

 _Thank goodness Cera grew up to be nothing like him_ , Petrie's mother thought, then took flight again with Etta. They needed to catch up with the other fliers with them, who had gone ahead to search other parts of The Mysterious Beyond for Cera. Although she hoped they would find Cera before it was too late, Petrie's mother was also secretly losing hope for a good outcome to things. But she wouldn't say anything; Mr. Threehorn and Tria were already upset enough as it was.

Ducky's mother approached Littlefoot's grandparents, who had gone up ahead of the group so they could talk out of Mr. Threehorn's hearing range.

"Do you honestly think we can find Cera?" she asked the longnecks. "The Mysterious Beyond goes on for days and Cera could be anywhere by now."

Grandpa and Grandma Longneck looked at each other.

"Of course we will," Grandma Longneck said. "With Chomper tracking Cera's scent, we're bound to find her eventually. But...do try not to say too much about her around Mr. Threehorn and Tria. It may upset them more than they already are."


	8. The Sail-Backed Sharptooth

**Chapter 7:**

 **The Sail-Backed Sharptooth**

"Oh no, no, no," Cera gasped. _I'm starting to sound like Ducky_ , she thought, but then let it slip her mind. They were more important things to worry about than talking like Ducky did. (This wasn't necessarily a bad thing anyway.) "It can't be!"

The footmarks Cera had just found looked familiar. They weren't footmarks of just any sharptooth. The way the toes were more spread out and appeared sharper at the ends told Cera they belonged to a sail-backed sharptooth. Sail-backed sharpteeth usually ate fish and other swimmers that weren't dinosaurs, but that didn't mean they wouldn't hunt and kill dinosaurs if they weren't any non-dinosaur swimmers to hunt. Sail-backed sharpteeth were also among the most aggressive of sharpteeth, and not to mention the most determined when it came to hunting. Thankfully, though, Cera had only ever encountered one sail-backed sharptooth in her life, when she and her friends had headed out into The Mysterious Beyond, searching for Guido after he'd sleep-walked right out of The Great Valley. They were nearly all killed by the sail-backed sharptooth, which Guido woke from its sleep.

The threehorn looked about in every direction. No matter where she looked, Cera saw the sail-backed sharptooth's footmarks. It must have been walking in circles around this area, something Cera had done to decide on what way to go a few times, or looking for Cera. She tried not thinking about that last scenario. The last thing anyone, especially a leaf eater, wanted was to have a sail-backed sharptooth _looking_ for them. Of all the sharpteeth Cera had encountered, only Sharptooth, who hunted Cera and her friends from that first encounter at the thorn grove all the way to the Great Valley, was worse than sail-backed sharpteeth. At least sail-backed sharpteeth didn't hunt for selfish reasons, vengeance in Sharptooth's case.

"But where do I go now?" Cera wondered aloud. She didn't want to admit it or even think about such a thing, but she was lost, and being lost in The Mysterious Beyond could be worse than encountering any sharptooth. Cera knew dehydration and starvation killed more dinosaurs than sharpteeth did. Ever since The Time of the Great Dying, The Mysterious Beyond had become mostly desert. Oasis and other sources of water had become rare in The Mysterious Beyond. For sharpteeth, food was just as hard to find as it was for leaf eaters. Sharpteeth had to resort to cannibalism to survive, but the targets of their cannibalism had developed new survival instincts, so even cannibalism was not a great option for larger sharpteeth anymore.

"Maybe this way…" Cera began, but her voice trailed off. "No, no, no…that's not right. This way?" she asked herself. "Oh, that's the way I came!" Cera grumbled. The threehorn was about to scream. Everything in this damn desert looked exactly the same! Cera could hardly differentiate between where she had come from and where she was going anymore. It was like some sort of maze with a sky overhead. The lack of cool water to drink made the great circle's heat beating down on the exposed threehorn's body even more unbearable than it was to begin with. Cera felt like she was roasting in the great circle's light. She wished clouds would just come by and block it out, or the night circle would block it out for a few hours like the time it had at the longnecks' migration spot. (Something that, at the time, dinosaurs had misinterpreted as the night circle causing the great circle to fall to the world below, when it was in fact a natural event that occurred every few years after the cold time. It had come to be called the "darkening of the great circle" among dinosaurs. When the great circle blocked out the night circle, it was called the "time of the bloody night circle", a rather dark name, but fitting nonetheless due to how the night circle turned a rusty red color.)

"Humph," Cera grunted, crawling up on a rock formation in the middle of the desert to get a better view of the area. Maybe it would help her decide what way to go now. "That way looks good," she said to herself. Cera had been coming from the west, so, the threehorn hoped, going east would bring her to the destination she was searching for sooner or later. That was the only logic Cera had to go by out here. The leaf eaters had traveled west from their previous homeland to find The Great Valley, so it just made sense for Cera to go east if she wanted to find the canyon where Pterano led part of the herd to their demise.

Cera went to crawl down the other end of the rock formation, but she froze immediately when a ground crawler appeared from underneath a small stone. The barbed tail was something any dinosaur recognized and it instinctively told them to leave it alone. Even the biggest of sharpteeth were afraid of stinging ground crawlers. One sting from the darker ones was enough to kill even the healthiest grown-up.

"N-Nice stinging ground c-crawler," Cera stuttered. "J-Just go the other way…this threehorn doesn't want to be s-stung and die…"

It was all Cera could do not to shake in fear when the stinging ground crawler came near her, only to go back the other way. It seemed to be investigating Cera, as if it were trying to figure out what she was. But the threehorn did not care _what_ it was doing. She just wanted the damn bug to go away before she fainted. She didn't know what it was going to do every time it came close to her, clicked its pincers, or flicked its tail.

Seeing the venom dripping from the barbed stinger at the end its tail made Cera break out in a sweat. She'd never been this nervous before in her life, not even the time she stared down a fast biter's gullet. Tria had warned Cera dark stinging ground crawlers like this one had venom that not only killed quickly, the sting victim experienced the worst pain imaginable before dying. First the victim's throat would swell up, preventing all breathing, and then a stabbing muscle before lastly dying. Some said it was the worst way to die, even worse than being ripped apart by a hungry sharptooth.

Finally, it left. The ground crawler scurried past Cera, down the rock formation in the direction she'd come from. Cera let out a heavy sigh and nearly collapsed, she was so relieved. But she suppressed the urge and instead ran down the side of the rock formation before any other nasty surprises showed up. This appeared to be ground crawler territory, which would explain why Cera hadn't seen any sharpteeth despite the footmarks all around the area. The sail-backed sharptooth was probably scared off when it realized stringing ground crawlers lived here. And Cera couldn't blame it either. She'd be scared by them off too.

Just to get her mind off of the perils of The Mysterious Beyond, Cera began thinking about all she'd been through with her friends and others. Other than Littlefoot, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, Chomper, and Ruby, she'd gotten close to the Tinysauruses (particularly Lizzy, since they both had similar problems with their respective dads), and even the likes of the Yellow Bellies and Chomper's parents. Of course, she hadn't always exactly called the Yellow Bellies and Chomper's parents "friends". Understandably so in the case of Chomper's parents, who were sharpteeth, it had taken some convincing for Cera to consider them friends.

That came in the form of the Yellow Bellies being impressed with Cera's horn and that, at the time, she told them she'd grow two more horns later, and Chomper's parents respective Cera and her friends for Littlefoot risking his life to save Chomper from drowning. The point was, she'd made a lot of friends over the years who weren't threehorns, so why couldn't her dad be the same way?

Cera was about to think more about her friends when the ground began to shake. Rocks rolled down the nearby cliff. _Maybe a weak earthshake?_ Cera thought. But then she quickly dismissed the thought. If it were an earthshake, then why wasn't the ground splitting open anywhere? The threehorn watched rocks already on the ground bouncing at the shaking intensified. It was not until the booming she heard got louder that Cera realized it wasn't an earthshake but something walking toward her. But the question was: _what_ kind of dinosaur could make the ground shake like it was? Not even a longneck walking made the ground shake like this.

 _What was that?!_ Cera thought. She saw something move behind the stonewall surrounding a path that led into a canyon (or at least Cera assumed it did). Not the head of a sharptooth, but Cera saw something briefly appear just above the stone before going out of sight again. Next, there was a roar that almost shattered Cera's eardrums. She would have covered her ears with her paws if she weren't a four-legged dinosaur.

"S-S-Sharptooth…" Cera stuttered to herself. "I gotta get out of here…"

But Cera would not have enough time to get out of sight before it appeared. From the path between the stonewalls appeared a large sharptooth with a muzzle not unlike that of belly draggers and a thin sail from the end of its neck to where its tail began. It had three claws on each hand, each sharp enough to tear flesh effortlessly.

A sail-backed sharptooth! Just what Cera had been afraid of, more than fast biters or regular sharpteeth. Silently, even though her heart was racing a mile a minute, the threehorn began backing away, and watching for any twigs, stones, or other objects that would give her away with the sound they made. All Cera needed to do was get around the bend without somehow being detected by the sail-backed sharptooth and she would be home from.

The sail-backed sharptooth began smelling the air. It'd gotten a faint whiff of something. Cera could hear it smelling even from how far away she was from the sail-backed sharptooth. With its eyes closed, it was sniffing all around, trying to figure out what it smelled. But then it _saw_ what it smelled: an adolescent threehorn trying to get away unseen. The sail-backed sharptooth let out a low growl and showed its teeth so Cera could see them. Then it reared its head up, roared louder than ever, and took off in Cera's direction.

"No!" Cera screamed. It was her turn to take off. She hoped the this corridor between the rock walls on either side of her was too tight for the sharptooth to chase after her, but when the threehorn looked back, she witnessed her tail nearly being bitten off! Cera yelped and almost tucked her tail between her hind legs just to see if it was still there. She didn't see any blood, Cera thought, so it must be. But the question burning in Cera's mind was how on earth would she get away from an angry sail-backed sharptooth that was probably very hungry as well?!

The sharptooth snapped at Cera, who only barely escaped feeling its teeth tearing into her flesh. It was relentlessly, constantly either biting at Cera or slashing at her with its claws. She didn't have a chance to ever catch her breath. If Cera got slowed down for any reason, she would die. The threehorn knew it. This sharptooth would _not_ give up until either it killed this pesky threehorn or she got away to somewhere it couldn't follow her. But it did not intend to let that happen. The sharptooth was starved and intended to catch this threehorn, even if it wouldn't keep him full for long. In the Mysterious Beyond, a small portion was better than not eating at all. Sharpteeth couldn't afford to be picky or complain about the size of prey when prey was as scarce as skeletons of dead dinosaurs were common.

"Ahh!" Cera screamed. She felt the sharptooth come near her and almost succeed at snatching her by the hindquarters with its hands. _I need to lose him soon or the last thing I'll do is be eaten!_ she thought. _But what can I do to get away? There aren't any small caves, or anything for that matter, to hide in!_

And then the sharptooth attempted biting Cera again, but again, it missed. Every time it failed to catch Cera, the sail-backed sharptooth seemed to get more enraged. What made matters worse for Cera was that she was getting tired and doubted she could keep running like this for much longer.

 _Oh, this is it..._ Cera thought. _I'm gonna die...I'm gonna die young with my friends and family never knowing what happened to me._

That last thought seemed to give Cera a sudden burst of energy. She got out of the sharptooth's reach, something that seemed to catch it off guard. Cera heard it gasp when she picked up speed.

 _That's right, you damn rock head_ , thought Cera. _You aren't having threehorn for dinner today!_

The sharptooth roared at Cera, as if it had read Cera's thoughts in this moment. Either way, something had gotten it even angrier with Cera all of a sudden. Not that the threehorn cared how angry a sharptooth got. All she was concerned with was getting out of this situation alive. Cera would think about other things later.

Cera's eyes grew wide all of a sudden. She may get a break after all. Not too far away was a small opening in the ground. Going through any hole in the ground would be risky for countless reasons, but what could be worse than being chased by a hungry sharptooth she was only making angrier? Nothing, in Cera's min. She'd rather fall through some hole and get hurt a little than be eaten by a sharptooth. On the bright side, Cera figured, she would probably fall into a body of water if she did make it.

 _No "ifs" about it!_ Cera silently scolded herself. _I AM going to make it. No sharptooth is going to have me for dinner. I won't let it happen. I've made it this far, I will not die now._ She would continue the silent self-scolding for the rest of the time she ran.

"Yes!" Cera yelled triumphantly and literally threw herself toward the hole in the ground. She went into it head first, opening it wider, and then the rest of Cera's body disappeared just as the sharptooth lunged for her. Its jaws bit shut on nothing more than air. The sharptooth roared with frustration then went away growling to itself.

But Cera was not out of danger yet, she realized as she kept falling. There was a body of water in the cave, but the threehorn was not falling toward it! Cera screamed as her body plummeted like a rock toward the hard ground. She landed with less of an impact than she had expected, then began screaming. Cera knew what the loud _crack_ she heard was.

Cera screamed, this time in agony. "Oh…" she groaned, "my leg…" The threehorn rolled over on her back, the pain was so bad. Cera just knew the fall had at least sprained her ankle, if not broken it completely. She'd landed directly on her ankle, the same one she sprained in a vain attempt to log run, and now she couldn't stop screaming. She wasn't sure if it was only sprained or broken but then again, Cera didn't care either! It hurt terribly, that was all she needed to know and worry about right now!

Even though her ankle was causing her excruciating pain, Cera tried to look on the bright side. For starters, no sharptooth could get to her through that opening, and even better, sharpteeth hated caves. That was something Cera was thankful for. It meant, most likely, she would be all alone while her ankle recovered.

 _Hopefully…_


	9. Alone No More

**Chapter 8:**

 **Alone No More  
**

It was mid-day when Cera awoke. She'd passed out from the pain of her hurt ankle and surprisingly, she slept well. As good as one could sleep with an ankle that was sprained, and possibly broken, anyway.

The threehorn groaned when she opened her eyes. Her ankle wasn't feeling any better than it had been last night. Of course, Cera didn't expect it to get any better either. She knew it was only sprained or else she probably wouldn't be able to stand up at all, but that still didn't mean Cera would make a quick recovery. It had been quite a fall into this cave after all. She was lucky the fall didn't kill her, Cera realized, looking up toward the hole in the cave's ceiling.

This cave reminded Cera of the one near Threehorn peak where she and her friends found Ducky while looking for the "stone of cold fire". Except Cera hadn't been as lucky as Ducky had been, for the hole she fell through to be right over the nearby body of water. Still, Cera couldn't exactly complain either. She was alive even after that fall and that was all that mattered right now. It wasn't easy to move around, but at least there was enough green food and water for the threehorn to survive on until her leg got better.

 _When will that be, though?_ Cera thought. Right now, she could hardly stand up, let alone walk, as it was. Sure, there was green food and water, but Cera couldn't stay here forever. Her reason for being out here was still on her mind. She had to get to…wherever it was she was going and soon. The sooner she got there, the sooner she could get back to The Great Valley. It was becoming too dangerous for Cera to be out here on her own. Much more dangerous than she had expected it to be, even considering all of the possibilities of bad things that could happen in The Mysterious Beyond.

"Eh, forget about it," thought Cera. "A few minutes more of sleep won't hurt."

The threehorn rested her head on her front legs, closed her eyes, and was asleep again within minutes. Her snores were quiet, not even loud enough to echo through the cave. As opposed to Cera usually being a loud snorer. Cera figured it would be better not to snore loudly if she could help it. She didn't want to attract the attention of any sharpteeth to the cave, even if they usually didn't hunt in caves due to all the bodies of water they contained.

As she slept, the threehorn was unaware of a set of eyes that had begun watching her from the darkness of a tunnel leading out of the cave. Whomever the eyes belonged to stayed in the cover of darkness. Having heard Cera's screams as she fell into the cave the day before, it came to investigate the source of the screaming. But now, it seemed hesitant about interacting with the hurt dinosaur. Most likely since she'd been hurt.

* * *

Cera awoke with a groggy look on her face. She wasn't sure what time of day it was, being in the dark of this cave. There'd been light shining through the hole in the cave's ceiling when she fell asleep, so she disregarded it now. While she was asleep, Cera had the oddest dream that felt so real. She'd seen another threehorn, a male, tending to her hurt leg. Where it got odd was Cera thought she'd felt something actually tending to her leg, but there was no one else in the cave with her that she knew of. Looking about, Cera saw nobody. Then things got even stranger when she looked down at her leg…

The threehorn gasped. Her hurt ankle was coated with a mixture of crushed leaves and mud, when it hadn't been when she went to sleep. (Whenever that was.) Cera would have noticed if her ankle had been coated in this mixture when she fell asleep. There was only one explanation and, to an extent, it worried Cera. She wasn't alone in this cave. Obviously, whoever it was may only intend to help her, but who was it? Better question was, _what_ was it? A dinosaur obviously, but Cera was a little concerned about what kind of dinosaur. She was in the middle of The Mysterious Beyond after all.

Cera couldn't get up, but she was not about to go down without a fight regardless if there was someone in the cave. In the Mysterious Beyond, she knew she couldn't trust anyone even if he or she'd done one kind act for her.

"Who's there?" Cera asked. "Show yourself." No answer. "I'm not afraid of whoever's there when they aren't brave enough to show themselves!" Still no answer. The only thing in the cave Cera heard was water flowing somewhere deeper in the cave and ground crawlers chirping. "I must be going crazy," she said to herself. "Or I'm sharing a cave with a coward…" She laid back down and decided to rest a little longer without giving whoever it was another thought. If he or she did show him or herself, then fine, but obviously it wasn't a sharptooth. A sharptooth would have attacked Cera by now.

But before she even closed her eyes, Cera heard a voice. "Hello?" someone asked. It belonged to a male. Cera looked up in the direction where the voice came from and gasped. It was another threehorn, no order than she was, and Cera couldn't believe her luck. Of all the dinosaurs she could have encountered in The Mysterious Beyond, she never could have predicted one of them would be another threehorn. (Cera would have been fine with any species other than any sharptooth, but she obviously had a greater bond with threehorns than other species since she was a threehorn.)

Cera was so thrilled that she had someone else to talk to she forgot her ankle was sprained or broken until she stood up and felt a sharp pain that brought her to the ground.

"I suggest you stay off that leg for a while," the other threehorn said. "It isn't broken, but you still hurt it pretty bad."

"Thanks, but I really need to get going," Cera said. Her mind had already gone back to her reason for being out here again. "It's important…"

"You can't honestly expect to get very far with a sprained ankle, can you?" he asked. "Do you not realize where you are?"

Cera didn't like his tone. She hated being talked to so strictly and like she was a child. "I know where I'm at," she spat. "The Mysterious Beyond. Who wouldn't recognize this wasteland?" She decided to change the subject before it went any further. Cera wasn't in the mood to argue over something stupid. It just made the pain in her leg worse. "What's your name?" she asked. That was all she could think to ask.

He seemed to hesitate at first, but then he answered. "Thorn," he said. Then he asked her to the same question, claiming, "It's only fair, I told you my name."

"Cera," she said.

"If you don't mind me asking, Cera," Thorn said. "What are you doing out here that is 'very important', as you put it?"

"I don't mind," she said. "Well, my mother and sisters died somewhere out here in a fast biter ambush-" Thorn gasped at that. "My father had known since it happened and never told me until a few days ago. Of course, I was upset and ran off, but I decided I must search for where they died to have some closure. If that makes any sense," she added. Thorn let her know that it did. "I also decided I must do it alone, that I can't put any of my friends or relatives in danger, even if I know they would want to come with me." Then a sad look came over Cera's face and voice. "But I don't think any of them even know where I've gone…" She suppressed the tears, not wanting to be seen crying, let alone in front of someone she'd only just met.

"That is brave of you," Thorn said, "and it must have been a difficult decision for you to make."

"I've been so lonely," Cera said. "You're the first dinosaur I've encountered out here that hasn't tried to kill me. First fast biters, then a sail-backed sharptooth…and not to mention the stinging ground crawlers. I don't even want to think what will happen next." Then she suddenly asked: "What are you doing out here all alone?" That question seemed to hit Thorn like a rock. "Should I not have asked that?"

"No, you're fine," Thorn said. "I had a feeling it would come up son, with what we've talked about so far." Cera tried saying he didn't need to tell her his story if it would upset him, but he seemed to believe it was right that he tell her. "I was barely able to find food for myself when it happened. There was a terrible earthshake that split the earth in two. The worst part of it all was the exploding fire mountain sending a river of fire rock right through our nesting ground. The last time I saw my parents, my dad ordered me to flee into this very cave…when it was all over, I must have spent the rest of the day looking for them…only to never find any sign of them having ever been there. The fire rock had wiped the entire area clean of all plants and life…"

Cera's eyes were wide. She couldn't believe a dinosaur had to go through such a terrible event so early in his life. And to think Cera had thought what she went through at that age because of Sharptooth and the earthquake was terrible. What Thorn just told her was the worst story she'd ever been told in her life. Cera didn't need to ask Thorn what he thought happened to his parents. His words, "the fire rock had wiped the entire area clean", answered that question without it being asked. Without saying a word about it, Cera and Thorn both knew his parents perished in the rivers of fire rock just like anything else caught in its path. Cera couldn't think of a worse way to die.

The thought of someone dying that way brought Cera back to when she and her friends found Bron, Littlefoot's father, trapped on an island of rock in the middle of a fire-river about to be over-flowered with fire rock. Cera still had nightmares about what Littlefoot would have done if he'd witnessed Bron perish in that fire-river before they could have saved him, especially after how he'd already witnessed his mother's death and almost lost both of his grandparents.

Thorn asked, "Cera?"

Cera shook her head. She'd gotten caught up in her thoughts. "Yes…?"

"I was wondering: could I join you on your journey?" he asked. "We've both been along, me for so long, and I think it would be good for both of us. And maybe after, I could come back with you to wherever you came from. I have nothing here that gives me reason to stay any longer, but never had the opportunity to leave."

Cera said, "I came from The Great Valley."

Thorn gasped. "The Great Valley!" he said with disbelief. "I've heard of The Great Valley from my parents and after the great earthshake, and always hoped that I would meet someone from there who could lead me there. None of my family knew how to reach The Great Valley."

Cera relented. It couldn't hurt to let someone come with her, could it? Especially if that someone was desperate for a better place to live and Cera could bring him to such a place. There wasn't a place in the world, Cera believed, that was better to live than The Great Valley.

"You can come with me," said Cera, "and back to The Great Valley with me when my journey ends." Then she added, "Once my leg is better anyway…"

* * *

 **Author's note:** Figured it was about time I introduced the OC listed in this story's description with Cera and Littlefoot.


	10. A Lost Trail

**Chapter 9:**

 **A Lost Trail**

Chomper looked away from the hole broken in the ground toward the others. They noticed how confused he appeared.

"What is it?" Petrie's mother asked.

"It's like Cera just disappeared," Chomper said. "She came this way, but her scent stops at this hole in the ground. I don't see her anywhere in the cave…and a sail-backed sharptooth was here…"

The grown-ups gasped.

"Oh dear," Ducky's mother said. "I hope she got away…Can you tell if she did?" she asked Chomper.

Chomper hesitated. Mr. Threehorn was right there. Eventually he said, "I can't…her scent stops at this hole."

"She had to have gotten away," Petrie's mother said. "There's no sign of a fight, no blood…"

"…and no Cera either!" Mr. Threehorn's outburst startled everyone. "What are we doing wasting time here if Cera's not here?"

"That's enough out of you," Petrie's mother spat. "Some father you are."

"Humph!" Mr. Threehorn growled. "Fliers always think they know everything…" He went to the back of the group instead of arguing any further.

Grandpa Longneck cleared his throat. "I think we should get moving," he said. "Cera's clearly not here but a sharptooth was."

At the back of the group, Tria said to Mr. Threehorn, "Topsy, you must have faith that we'll find her. She can take care of herself, you even told me she survived out here in The Mysterious Beyond when she was just a hatchling. Why are you so worried that something bad has happened to her now when she's growing up?" He didn't answer. Tria gasped. "You think she can't take care of herself?"

"Of course not!" Mr. Threehorn protested. "I never said such a thing!"

"My point exactly," Tria said. "You didn't say anything to answer my question."

"Oh," Mr. Threehorn said. "I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind. Cera's my only daughter, other than Tricia, and I don't want to lose her too."

"She's my daughter too, Topsy," Tria said. "And I have faith that we'll find her. You need to have faith also. If we believe we can find Cera, then we will."

"With everything that's happened to me before you came to The Great Valley, having faith has been difficult," Topsy admitted. "I don't have much family left. You, Cera, Tricia, Dinah, and Dana are all the family I have left."

"That is why you must have faith that we'll find Cera," Tria said. "I'm worried about her, but I know we'll find her. You've told me she's always found you again when she's been lost in The Mysterious Beyond in the past. And this isn't her first time surviving a sail-backed sharptooth, according to Guido and her other friends."

Threehorn moved ahead. He would hate himself for saying what he would to Tria, but a part of him felt it needed to be said. "Maybe when you've lost as much family as I have," he said, "then you'll understand why I feel like I do."

Tria was speechless. He'd never talked to her like that once they had an egg together. But at the same time… _Maybe he is right_ , Tria thought. _I haven't lost any family to tragedies like he has. My parents passed away naturally, he watched sharpteeth murder his parents. And Tricia is still alive, all of his daughters other than Cera were killed by fast biters with his first wife. Maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to judge him._

Tria decided she would let him be for a bit. Maybe if Topsy had some time to be alone, he would get his thoughts together, she thought. Tria saw no other option right now but that.

Petrie's mother landed by Ducky's mother. She'd had enough of flying, which was the whole reason she was with Mr. Threehorn and the others, and not searching head with Etta and the other fliers. Of course, she wanted to help find Cera just as much as the others did, but she wasn't exactly the youngest flier anymore and, on top of that, that'd searched for places in The Mysterious Beyond from the air than the other fliers had.

"I don't think my wings will carry me much further" was what she'd said to Littlefoot's grandparents when she nearly crashed into one of them. They were all understanding that she needed to rest, except Mr. Threehorn being a little annoyed, even almost saying "Oh, she's just getting soft. You haven't heard the other fliers complaining." But he must've realized that she wasn't young anymore and he wasn't either, since he had stopped talking mid-sentence.

Ducky's mother looked down to speak to the flyer as the group walked. "Where do you think Cera could have gone?" the swimmer asked. "Chomper saying that a sharptooth had been there and Cera's scent trail vanishing without a trace worries me, but as you said, there was no blood that we could see. A dinosaur can't just disappear without there being a reason. None of us saw Cera down in that cave and if she was, she would have been there 'cause it was quite a fall, and I don't believe Cera would be able to just walk away from it."

"For once," Petrie's mother said, "I'm afraid I don't have an answer. There are just too many things about this that don't make sense and bring up more questions than answers. I haven't got an answer to this one…" Her voice trailed off. She seemed to be thinking hard about how to explain this. If they weren't walking, Ducky's mother thought, she probably would have been tapping her foot on the ground as she thought.

"Maybe Cera wasn't hurt as bad as we would think she'd be," Grandma Longneck suggested. "The children have always been resilient."

"Yes," Petrie's mother said, "but they've never fallen from such a height before. I hate to think about it, but I'm afraid Cera's been hurt bad. No one could fall from that height and not be hurt."

Ducky's mother shuddered at the thought. She remembered Ducky's tale of a similar fall, when running from Rinkus and Sierra. Except Ducky was fortunate to have fallen through a hole in the ground over a body of water, which wasn't the case for Cera if she had fallen into that cave. No one wanted to think about the other alternative, that she'd been eaten by the sail-backed sharptooth Chomper said had been there as well. It was unlikely, as, like Petrie's mother pointed out, there was no sign of blood or a fight, but it was still a possibility that worried them all.

Their respective children's' fathers crossed their minds as they walked. Petrie's father died when Petrie and his siblings were only eggs about to hatch. Their eggs had been laid in the middle of the time of the great dying and any food the family had gotten, Petrie's father let her have. One day, he never came back to the nest. Petrie's mother, although at the time different dinosaurs rarely socialized with each other, asked one of Ducky's relatives if she could watch over her nest when she went to look for her husband. And she found him, but was too late. The lack of food and water had gotten to him first and then the scavengers. Petrie's mother would never forget finding her husband as a picked-clean skeleton. Unlike Mr. Threehorn not being very open with Cera about what he knew, Petrie's mother had told her children that something bad happened to their father, and she would tell them what exactly when they were older, claiming "it's nothing something a parent should tell young'uns".

Ducky had actually known her father at one point, but she lost him under much more tragic circumstances than how Petrie lost his father. Hyp, Mutt and Nod had gone out into the Mysterious Beyond after the fast water in the Great Valley stopped flowing due to a flying rock blocking its source from somewhere in The Mysterious Beyond, thinking they could solve the problem on their own. Some of the adults had ended up following Littlefoot and his friends, who had followed Hyp, Mutt, and Nod in an attempt to bring them back before they got into trouble, but they were ambushed by a small pack of fast biters. There was only one casualty, but it was one that hit hard: Ducky's father had been caught by a fast biter that had lurked around for stragglers in the midst of all the fighting. The other leaf eaters hadn't noticed it until the fighting was over, before they returned to The Great Valley, having been focused on protecting the children from the fast biters at any cost. (A decision that almost cost Mr. Threehorn, Grandma Longneck, and Hyp, Mutt and Nod's dads their lives as well.) Ducky's family chose not to talk about the incident that often, it often upset them, particularly Ducky, who had been especially close to her father before his death.

* * *

"Just keep following the footmarks!" Littlefoot hollered over the blowing wind. Ducky, Petrie, Spike, and Ruby were struggling to keep up with Littlefoot in the middle of this sand cloud. The wind was much stronger than the last one Littlefoot and his friends had encountered in the dry land beyond the feather-headed sharpteeth's territory. "We have to keep following the grown-ups if we want to find Cera!"

"That would not be so difficult if it weren't for the sand cloud!" Ducky shouted. Then she sputtered, having gotten a mouthful of sand right after she said that. "I do not like sand clouds," she added. "No, no, no."

"Ack!" Petrie coughed. "Me neither!"

Spike groaned in agreement.

Ruby said nothing. This was not her first time being in a sand cloud, since she used to live in The Mysterious Beyond on a daily basis, and knew a mouthful of sand was something she didn't want. (Especially after seeing how Ducky and Petrie reacted to it, Ruby would keep her mouth closed until it was over.)

"Why are we not seeking shelter until the sand cloud is gone?" Ducky asked. "We can't keep going through it for much longer if it stays like this…" And then Ducky was hit in the face with sand. "Oh…" she groaned. The sand stung her eyes like water from the big water would, except it was even drier.

Littlefoot looked around. Or at least tried. The sand cloud was becoming blinding, even for him and Ruby. "I don't see any shelter to seek," he said, then spat out sand. "Ack!" he coughed. "I just hope Cera and our parents didn't get caught in this!" Littlefoot shouted back to the others.

And then a strong gust of wind sent Littlefoot head-over-tail right into the others. They all screamed as the wind blew them in the direction that they'd struggled to come from, between the swamp and now this darned sand cloud. As they tumbled across the desert in one mass, Petrie wrapped his winds around Littlefoot's neck. Ducky did the same to Ruby. Before the five friends knew it, they were all up to their necks (or up to their tails, for those who had been blown into the sand headfirst) in sand, with the cloud showing no signs of letting up soon.

"Oh dear," Ruby said.

Ducky mumbled something inaudible. She was the unlucky one, with her hind legs and tail sticking out of the ground. The rest of her body, up to her hip, was buried in the sand. She may have said "No, no, no" but the others couldn't tell, between her voice being muffled by the sand and the wind blowing louder than ever. They could hardly hear themselves think, let alone each other talk!

Petrie had been blown into a tree, where he was hanging upside-down by his feet and sputtering as the sand cloud blew past his head. He screeched like how only fliers could screech then fell to the ground with a scream. "Gah!" he coughed again. "Me hate sand cloud!" he said. "You sure there no shelter, Littlefoot?"

"I can't see right in front of me," Littlefoot said, "let alone shelter!" He was speaking loudly so his friends could hear him.

"Where's Ducky?" Ruby asked.

"Mmm-mmm." They heard a muffled voice.

"Me see her!" Petrie squawked. "To your right, Ruby."

Ruby looked down, with squinted eyes, and saw a pair of legs kicking as whom they belonged to continued yelling underneath the sand. The fast runner struggled to crawl through the sand toward Ducky, but she made it. With one hand, Ruby gently pulled Ducky out of the sand then held the little swimmer close to her torso to shield her from the sand cloud.

"What can we d-do?" Ducky asked. "Littlefoot?"

Littlefoot didn't answer. He was too focused on looking around for a cave or something they could seek refuge in, hopefully temporarily. He squinted his eyes, then saw it. "A cave!" he shouted. "Follow me!"

Littlefoot led his friends a few feet toward the opening he saw. He was small, but turned out to be large enough for them all, Spike included, to get through. The friends each talked about how relieved they were to finally be out of the sand cloud. Ducky and Petrie especially, they would have been lost from Littlefoot, Ruby, and Spike if Littlefoot hadn't noticed this cave's opening soon.

"What we do now?" Petrie asked.

"Wait it out, I guess," Littlefoot said. The others noticed the regret in his voice. He must be feeling bad that their helping Cera would be slowed down tremendously because of this sand cloud. Ruby was the first to notice the guilty look that came over his face as he stared out into the sand cloud.

"Oh, Littlefoot," said Ruby. "Don't feel so bad. We'll still rescue Cera. She's always been a strong threehorn. She's all right, I'm sure. Cera knows well enough, like we did, to seek shelter immediately if she was caught in the sand cloud too."

"It's not the sand cloud that has me worried about Cera…" Littlefoot sighed. "It's the sharpteeth footmarks we saw before the sand cloud started. Cera wouldn't admit it, but her worst fear is sharpteeth. She's frozen at the sight of fast biters before and those are the footmarks we saw…"

Ruby gasped. She hadn't ever known that about Cera. But she knew it would be best not to say anything, at risk of upsetting Littlefoot more than he already was. She could only hope Cera had gotten over her fear of sharpteeth if any had found her.

Ducky thought, _I hope the grown-ups or Cera won't be too upset with us when they find out we followed them out here…_


	11. A Painful Journey

**Chapter 10:**

 **A Painful Journey**

Cera took a peek out of the cave only to almost be hit in the face by a sandy gust of wind. She had followed Thorn, who said he knew the one way out of this cave (other than how Cera got into it), but now they were stuck due to a sudden sand cloud blowing in.

She remembered the last time she'd been caught in a sand cloud. Littlefoot had just left Cera and the others behind to look for his father on his own, claiming they slowed him down. The sand cloud that followed separated Petrie from the group and trapped Littlefoot in a cave with the flyer Etta. Cera was, thankfully, not out in it this time, though. She could tell from her vantage point that it was just like the last one she lived through.

"Well, we're stuck again," muttered Cera. She threw herself down on the sandy cave floor. "And my leg's not to blame this time," she added with a bit of humor in her voice. Trying to be cheerful despite things looking had once been unlikely behavior of Cera, but as she matured, her outlook on how to act changed in more ways than just how she felt toward other kinds of dinosaurs. She could easily be optimistic now if she wanted to, unless things were extremely bad. Cera could deal with a sand cloud and being stuck in a cave, especially since she wasn't alone now. Cera had been losing hope up until she met Thorn. Not having someone to talk to in a place like The Mysterious Beyond was the worst fate anyone could suffer, other than death of course.

"Looks like it." Thorn laughed a little. "I just hope it gets over with fast," he said.

Cera sighed. "You're right," she said. "We still have to find where it is my family…" She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, but Thorn knew what she would have said. Then she sighed for a second time. "I don't think this sand cloud will be going anywhere any time soon. And neither will we."

Thorn only nodded, then lay down by Cera's side. Lying at the entrance of this cave and walking was about all they could do until the sand cloud was gone. Cera especially hoped it would be soon. Hurt leg or not, she wanted to get moving. Her leg had already slowed her down one day. She didn't want to waste any more time, but knew running out into a sand cloud wasn't exactly the wisest thing to do. Cera remembered Petrie learning that the hard way.

A worried look, which Thorn didn't notice, came over Cera's face. She was thinking about her friends and family. Cera had a gut feeling that they'd learned she was out in The Mysterious Beyond and were looking for her, but she didn't know why she felt that way. She just did and couldn't shake the feeling no matter how hard she tried thinking about something else. That is, until she thought about Littlefoot. If he was actually out here looking for her and something bad happened to him, Cera would probably never forgive herself. She would think it was her fault if Littlefoot was hurt or worse since he came after her, no matter what anyone would do to try and make her believe otherwise.

Cera's true worst fear had always been that something bad would happen to Littlefoot and, even worse, she was to blame for it happening. She had bad sleep stories about such a scenario, ranging from sharpteeth attacks to natural disasters or any other tragic circumstance Cera had imagined in her sleep stories, causing Littlefoot to perish, and Cera not being able to save him. After that, her sleep stories involved Littlefoot's grandparents or Bron blaming Cera for Littlefoot's death, and then her running away from The Great Valley, and not telling anyone, to never come back. She hoped such a thing never happened whenever she woke up screaming after having sleep stories like that. Thankfully, they were uncommon, she thought.

* * *

Morning came around before the sand cloud was gone. But the aftermath of it was still there, Cera and Thorn noticed as the trekked across The Mysterious Beyond. They were piles of sand all over as far as either of them could see, but at least the wind wasn't blowing it around anymore. They'd lost a day of travel because of that last sand cloud.

That was about as good as things got for the pair, though. Cera's hurt ankle was bothering her a lot. Thorn had questioned if they should leave so soon after she sprained it, but Cera was determined to complete her journey without letting some sprained ankle stop her. Although she was secretly regretting her decision a bit. Cera's ankle hurt more than she'd expect it would. Back in the cave, she'd thought it had been feeling better but now that she was on it, Cera was fighting back tears caused by the pain. If she didn't know any better, she'd think it was broken and not just sprained.

After a while, Thorn began to notice Cera's awkward gait as she walked.

"Are you sure your ankle is feeling better?" he asked. "You've been limping ever since we left the cave."

"Yes!" Cera said energetically. She was trying to make it seem as though she wasn't hurting. "My ankle's fine."

Thorn glared at her. "I don't think you're being completely honest with me. If your ankle was fine, you wouldn't be limping like you are."

Cera sighed. "Okay, it's not fine," she admitted. "I just didn't want to think about it any so we can just focus on getting wherever it is I'm looking for."

"That's not the wisest thing to do," he said. "You could hurt your ankle worse if you aren't careful."

Cera gasped. "Are you saying I'm not wise?"

"No, no, no," Thorn said rapidly. "I wasn't saying that at all!" He sensed that Cera could be aggressive when she wanted to be and was backing off a little.

"Really? 'Cause it sure sounded like it," she pressed.

"I was just saying it's not a good idea to be on your foot when it's injured," he re-phrased what he said. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"But I have to get-" Cera began.

"You won't get there if you break your ankle either," Thorn cut her off mid-sentence. "I know you want to reach your destination, but I think we should rest another day or two."

"Fine," Cera grumbled. "But where? We aren't anywhere near the cave now." Thorn could sense the pain her voice. Cera wasn't trying to hide it now that she'd admitted she was hurting.

"We'll find something," said Thorn. "The Mysterious Beyond has any many caves as it has sharpteeth."

 _Did he really have to mention sharpteeth?_ Cera thought. _I've about had it with sharpteeth…_ She scowled at the thought of encountering any more. It would probably happen, but she could always hope it wouldn't. She'd almost died more times in the past few days than she had in the past year of her life. After this was over, Cera would probably refuse to travel into The Mysterious Beyond again anytime soon. She'd had enough of this place to last her two life times.

Thorn noticed the scowl on Cera's face. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked.

Cera shook her head. She'd been caught up in her thoughts. "Oh, it's not you," she said. "I just started thinking about things when you mentioned sharpteeth is all."

"Like what?"

"Just that I've seen enough sharpteeth lately," Cera explained. "Fast biters, a sail-backed sharptooth…I don't want to see another as long as I live."

"I'm sorry," Thorn said.

"Excuse me?"

"I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't." Cera shook her head. "I'd been thinking about how you'll probably never get me out here again when this is all over."

Cera stepped on her foot wrong as they walked. She nearly fell over from the resulting pain and groaned as she did. "Ohh…I forgot all about my sprained ankle with all the talking we did…"

Thorn went to support Cera as she tried to stand back up. "Do you want to stop and rest for a bit?" he asked.

"I guess," said Cera, a bit coldly. "But where? We're wandering the middle of a wasteland with no way of finding our way back to the cave thanks to that sand cloud."

Thorn looked around. He didn't see any other caves or places they could hide from sharpteeth while Cera rested her hurt ankle, the sighed. "You're right," he said. "I don't see anywhere we could go either," he added in a guilty tone.

Cera noticed his tone. "What are you blaming yourself for?" she asked him. "If anything, I've gotten us into this situation by convincing you to leave that cave when we did." Cera swore she sounded like Tria when she said that, which, needlessly to say, surprised her. She never knew she could say such things or talk so comfortingly to someone who wasn't her baby sister Tricia's age.

"We should get going." Thorn suddenly sounded more resolutely. "We don't want anything to catch us out here." He avoided directly mentioning Sharpteeth again. "A sand cloud may not slow larger dinosaurs down, I'm afraid and we need to find a safe spot for you to rest before it gets dark out."

Cera slowly stood up, as to not agitate her ankle anymore. Thorn eventually had to help her get back on her feet. Once that was done, the two threehorns determined which way was east and got back to walking that way. It would be a slow journey to find a place to relax, though, with Cera's one leg bothering her the entire way. Although he didn't say anything to avoid upsetting Cera, Thorn feared her groans of pain would attract sharpteeth from everyone if they got too loud.

He knew Cera wouldn't be able to run away from a determined sharptooth with the way her ankle was treating her. She'd already survived two sharptooth attacks - one of which resulted in her injury - and Thorn wouldn't let her die out here, no matter what the cost, even if that cost was his life. Probably more than Cera even, Thorn wanted her to find what it was she was looking for, to find closure at last. Closure was something he'd probably never find. His parents perished in the fire-river, so there were no physical remains for him to see. All he had left to remember his parents by was a few faint memories of them when he was a hatchling. Cera only had memories of her mother and sisters, but at least their remains hadn't been burnt up in a river of fire rock like his had been.

"Oh," Cera groaned. "This ankle…it just won't just aching. I can't stand it anymore!"

"Maybe we should rest here for a bit?" Thorn suggested.

"As much as I would hate to rest out in the open anywhere in The Mysterious Beyond," Cera sighed, "I don't think we have much choice."


	12. Conflicted Feelings

**Author's note:** After reading Protonix's review of this chapter before its changes and talking with him about ways to improve it, I decided it was best if I don't rush into what happened originally and save that for later. So while the majority of this chapter is the same, I thought it'd be best if I re-write the ending and give this chapter a slightly different purpose.

This chapter will be the same as it was before, but for those who have already read it once, read through it again for the differences. I feel like it's a lot better now than it was before.

* * *

 **Chapter 11:**

 **Conflicted Feelings**

The light from the night circle lit up the canyon for Cera and Thorn, even though it was the dead of night. Neither threehorn had ever seen the night circle shining so brightly before, but they couldn't complain aside from it being a small reason they hadn't gotten to sleep yet. The big reason was an obvious one. Sleep couldn't come easily to them while they were out in the open, where sharpteeth could easily spot them. Cera and Thorn hadn't been able to find a cave or other place sharpteeth wouldn't look too far for them.

"I never thought I wouldn't be glad to see the night circle," Cera said. "We'll never get to sleep if it doesn't go away soon," she added.

"It shouldn't be as bright soon," said Thorn. "The sky puffies usually block the night circle's light around this time."

"It'd better," she replied. "I want to get some sleep tonight. Between the way my foot's bothering me and we have another long journey ahead of us tomorrow. If my foot's going to my hurting, I want at least one to be well-rested." Cera usually wasn't someone who complained, but who couldn't at a time like this? She could tell Thorn felt the same way, although he seemed to prefer being silent about it. He probably wanted to avoid attracting sharpteeth to the canyon as much as possible.

"It will," Thorn whispered. "I promise. In the meantime, we may as well enjoy the view. I mean, the night circle always does make the land look better."

Cera rolled her eyes. "Nothing can make The Mysterious Beyond look better," she said bitterly. "Not with how everything about it reminds you of death and how anything that lives here can kill you. That is why I will not come back here again anytime soon once my journey is over," she added.

Thorn nodded in agreement, although he hadn't almost been eaten by sharpteeth twice like Cera had been. "That is why I will come back to The Great Valley with you," he said. "That and I have nothing left here but bad memories."

"The Mysterious Beyond makes only bad memories," Cera said. Then she changed her tone and the subject. "Well, no point talking about it. Like you said, we may as well enjoy the night circle as much as we can while we can see it." _Not like we can do anything else while it's here anyway_ , she thought. _May as well make the best of this even if I'd rather sleep right now._

Thorn seemed surprised about Cera's sudden change of heart about his suggestion. "It is a little chilly though," he had to admit. Cera nodded with agreement. She shivered then moved closer to Thorn to stay warm. "But at least we're not alone. We can stay warm."

"Yeah," Cera said. "I know that feeling. I was cold and alone out here before we found each other in that cave." Then she told him something that she would usually only tell Littlefoot or Ducky. "I'd been considering giving up and just going back to The Great Valley without accomplishing what I've risked my life for twice now before I met you. I was getting too lonely to want to be out here anymore."

"You didn't want any of your friends you told me about to come with you?" Thorn asked.

"I didn't want to put them in danger," she explained. "I'd never forgive myself if the things that have happened to me happened to any of them. I would be to blame if they'd gotten hurt or killed out here."

"But why?" Thorn asked. "I know what you're saying, but you can't ever predict the future."

"Why? They wouldn't have gotten hurt or killed if I didn't bring them with me," she explained. "That is why I left The Great Valley without telling my friends or anyone. I don't think I'd be able to handle losing any of my friends, especially if it is my fault."

Thorn sighed. "I wish I'd grown up with friends," he said sadly. "I never had a chance to before the great earthshake…I lost what little everything I had that day and I'd never made any friends that day. They probably would have died anyway," he growled. "But I won't let that happen to you. You're the first dinosaur I've talked to since I was only a hatchling. I don't want to lose you, the first friend I've had." Then he added, "You're more than a friend to me."

Cera almost gasped, then tried hiding the fact that his words, "You're more than a friend to me", were making her blush. She hadn't been interested in males of her species or even thought about them. Other than Cera's love for what was left of her family, the only love Cera had felt was for all her friends. Cera hadn't ever been one for romance. When they had been searching for the Tinysauruses (before anyone but Littlefoot knew they were such), the way her dad and Tria used to look at each other had made Cera gag and claim she'd never stare that way at a male, of her kind or not.

Of course, she wasn't that way as much now, as she grew up. And now, Cera thought, she may be even less like that because of Thorn. Up to now, Littlefoot had been the closest thing to a loving relationship she'd had, but the way she felt around Thorn was something different all together. Being around Littlefoot had never made her heart beat fast or her stomach get in knots whenever she was around him. Well, Cera had never been a dinosaur who got nervous about much, especially not recently. Then it hit her: Tria had once described feeling the same way around her dad before they become a couple and had Tricia. Cera almost shook her head. She never thought she'd be in love other than the love she had for her friends and family.

 _I-I'm in love?_ Cera thought. She tried not to gasp. _I didn't think love got your stomach in such knots like this. Sure, Tria said this is how being in love feels but…_ Cera didn't know what else to think. If this was what being in love felt like, then Cera wasn't sure if she liked the feeling or not. The way her stomach was knotting up at present reminded her of how she felt when she was sick to her stomach, to an extent.

But how could she tell Thorn this when the time was right? If it ever would be. She'd never been in love with someone and, on top of that, Cera had never been the best at breaking news, good or bad, to someone. The words formed in her mind, but died there as well. She couldn't bring herself to telling Thorn how she was beginning to feel about him. Not right now, anyway. Cera believed if she told Thorn that she loved him right now, he would think she's a threehorn who liked to act too quickly without giving things time or thought before acting. And now more than ever, Cera didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with the only dinosaur in The Mysterious Beyond who could keep her company. They needed each other right now and Cera wouldn't do anything that would send them on their own ways, even if that meant not telling Thorn her true feelings toward him right now. They'd only known each other for a few days, after all, and she thought it'd be best if he thought they were only friends until the time was right in Cera's mind.

Thorn cocked his head at Cera. He noticed she seemed to be in deep thought about something. "Is something bothering you?" he asked quietly.

"No!" Cera gasped. "Sorry, you just surprised me," she added in a whisper. "I've had a lot on my mind."

"Did you want to talk about it?" he asked. "Talking about things never hurts."

"Tell that to my dad," Cera scoffed. "Before meeting my new mom, he'd ever want to talk about things. He kept all his feelings hidden, even if he was hurting on the inside. My dad would never talk to anyone, another threehorn or not, when they offered. He is still like that sometimes, except with my mom."

"Well…You can always tell me anything you want to," Thorn said. "I'm more of a listener anyway. I won't judge you for anything you tell me, Cera."

Cera looked up from the ground and smiled. _I wish there were more threehorns in The Great Valley like him,_ she thought. _I've only heard Tria say something like that before now. Most don't seem to want to listen to what you say without interrupting you._

"Okay," she said. "I've just been thinking about my friends and family, and how worried they must be about me. They probably don't even know where I've gone. It honestly makes me feel bad that I'm making them go through this."

Thorn blinked. "You're doing this with good intentions and for your family," he said. "You don't need to feel bad about not telling them. You left them in the dark for their own safety. That makes you a good friend in my eyes. The few threehorns I knew weren't like you. They only did things if it benefited them in the end and not for others, whether it helped them as well or not."

Cera seemed surprised. She'd never had a complete stranger say she's a good friend or the least selfish dinosaur they'd ever met, except for the Tinysauruses. They trusted Cera and her friends from the moment they met each other. Sometimes Cera wished she could be so trusting of dinosaurs she hardly knew. She blamed her dad's former ways for that. He raised her to not only avoid dinosaurs that weren't threehorns, but also to not trust anyone before she got to know them well. But there was no point brooding on the past. Her dad wasn't anything that now. (Though he did still have his moments.)

Then her thoughts went back to what had been on her mind before Thorn had asked if something was wrong. Cera still wasn't entirely sure what this feeling she got in her heart and her belly was whenever she was around Thorn. She'd never felt this way before. She couldn't be falling for him, could she? They'd only just met each other a few days ago. Cera wasn't one for quickly getting _that_ close to someone. She didn't even know much about Thorn yet, aside from him telling her he'd lost his entire family in the great earthshake that separated Cera and her friends from their families.

Cera decided to say, "Maybe we should try and get to sleep now" instead of what she'd wanted to ask. She would wait until the time was right to bring these strange feelings up.

But she knew they would probably not go away.


	13. Thorn?

**Chapter 12:**

 **Thorn?**

Cera looked around the canyon with a confused look on her face. _Where had Thorn gone?_ she wondered to herself. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep with him by her side and now that the great circle had risen in the sky, Cera couldn't find him.

The threehorn still limped as she walked, but her ankle was beginning to bother her less than she had been over the past few days. But now, she couldn't let her hurt ankle bother her. She had to find Thorn now so they could get back to traversing The Mysterious Beyond. Plus they needed to go before any sharpteeth find them.

Usually Cera wouldn't make any noise, but she and Thorn hadn't seen any sharpteeth for days, so she would make an exception this time. "Thorn!" she called. "Where are you? Thorn!" The only answer she got was wind blowing through the canyon. After that, Cera noticed footmarks belonging to a threehorn in the dirt.

 _They must be Thorn's footmarks,_ she thought. _But why would he leave the canyon without at least waking me to let me know?_ Cera blinked. This all just confused her more and more with each thing she saw. "I hope he's okay…" Cera said to herself, but her words trailed off. He probably was, but that didn't stop the bad feeling in her gut.

"Thorn?" Cera called out again. But again, only the wind answered her. It sounded eerie, even for wind, and sent a chill right down her spine to the tip of her tail. The wind's howling reminded her of that made by fast biters at night. That made her especially hate hearing the wind blowing.

"Thorn!"

And yet again, she got no answer. Cera decided to follow the footmarks, figuring they had to be Thorn's. Obviously, she could differentiate a threehorn's footmarks from those of other dinosaurs, being a threehorn herself. The only thing she couldn't figure out, still, was why he'd left the canyon without saying anything to her first. Cera had told him she wouldn't care if he woke her up as long as it was for something important. He should have known she'd been referring to a scenario like this as well, because she was really worried about him right now. Why would he do something that he probably knew would worry her?

Besides, it wasn't smart to go anywhere alone in The Mysterious Beyond. She and Thorn weren't grown-up threehorns quite yet. Even if Cera's ankle wasn't hurt, she and Thorn could only handle smaller sharpteeth like fast biters, and only if they weren't hunting in groups. A sail-backed sharptooth or any other larger sharptooth wasn't a problem for a grown-up threehorn, but they would be for two threehorns hardly past their Times of Great Growing. A sail-backed sharptooth or a pack of fast biters would make short work of them. Cera knew Thorn knew that too, so she couldn't understand why he would do something as foolish as wandering The Mysterious Beyond alone.

The wind blew sand into Cera's face. She coughed, then growled with annoyance. The sand stung her eyes, but she pressed on out of the canyon, limping slightly as she did. Cera figured she had no choice but to go and look for Thorn, although she felt her ankle would make her regret not resting later. The muscles in her ankle were already burning but Cera wouldn't stop now.

"Thorn!" she cried. "Where are you?"

Cera thought she heard something move, but it turned out to be the wind blowing a small stone from its position on a hill. It clattered down the hill, but she ignored it and went on. Soon, Thorn's footmark trail disappeared. Cera looked around, a confused expression on her face. A dinosaur didn't just disappear and leave no trail, Cera thought, so where could he have gone? There weren't any caves or other hiding spots anywhere nearby that Cera could see.

"Thorn!" Cera yelled. The threehorn was about to cry. They weren't any signs of a fight or Thorn having been attacked by a sharptooth, so Cera began to feel as though Thorn had left her for whatever reason. What else could explain his sudden disappearance without saying anything to her? The thought of being alone again made her want to curl up right where she was and bawl her eyes out.

Before she did that, Cera thought she heard someone walking from around the bend. She almost gasped. _Is it Thorn?_ she wondered. The footsteps she heard were heavy sounding like those of a threehorn about her or Thorn's age. She got up and tried forgetting about her hurt ankle as she went around the bend. But she slowed down when Cera heard a low growl and then an unfamiliar sound after that. The threehorn slowed her place down then, once she made it to the bend, Cera only peeked around it.

That would be something she regrets. Cera saw enough of what the unfamiliar sound she heard was. It began with her seeing a large fast biter with a grey hide and dark stripes down its back, then underneath it was its meal. Not much was left of the carcass at this point, but Cera could tell among the mess of gore and shattered bones, that it had been a threehorn before the fast biter got it. Cera's heart began to sink. It was always possible they were other threehorns in The Mysterious Beyond besides her and Thorn, but considering Thorn had disappeared without a trace, Cera couldn't help but assume the worst. Then she saw something that confirmed her fear: the threehorn's head was still intact, albeit severed. Beyond the torn flesh where its head had been ripped clean off, Cera recognized the threehorn's face.

Then she made another mistake…

"THORN" she screamed. The fast biter's head spun around instantly. It growled at Cera, flesh blood dripping from its teeth as it stalked toward the threehorn. It stopped suddenly and barked up toward the sky. Before Cera had a chance to run, four more fast biters just like the first one appeared from openings in the canyon. Arms extended, the fast biters were about to lunge at Cera. Cera screamed again and forgot all about her hurt ankle. In that moment, she only thought about survival, and ran like she'd never run before.

Cera didn't even know she could run like this, especially with a hurt ankle. She couldn't deny her ankle was more likely broken than sprained, but she couldn't stop running either unless she wanted to be ripped apart like Thorn had been. But how long could see keep this burst of energy going before her leg gave out on her? She didn't feel any pain right now, but that couldn't be true for long, Cera feared. The threehorn's heart beat a mile a minute as she ran.

The fast biters growled and barked as they chased the threehorn. Blood and saliva dripped from their jaws. The blood reminded Cera she would never erase the memory of Thorn's broken body from her mind if she lived through this. The question burning in Cera's mind was: _how_ would she live through this? Her bad ankle would be her demise if she didn't get somewhere these fast biters couldn't reach her soon. Just because she didn't feel any pain right now, her running being fear and adrenaline-fueled, didn't mean this wasn't having a negative impact on her ankle.

One of the fast biters snapped its jaws at Cera and nearly took part of her tail off. "No!" she screamed. "Get away from me!"

Cera's fear seemed to fuel the fast biters' determination. The fast biter with bloodstained teeth licked its lips. It'd already gotten the taste of one threehorn and was hungry enough to score another kill today. Its pack mates could always eats the leftovers of its two kills.

 _I hate fast biters!_ Cera thorn coldly. She would never forgive any fast biter for what that damn rock head did to Thorn! Cera would make them extinct if she could, for what that one did. The fear in Cera's heart seemed to have transitioned to hate toward all fast biters, particularly the one she found eating Thorn's remains. If she could, Cera would turn around right now and impale her horn through him then watching him bleed out right there. She wanted to see those other fast biters as the ones running away in fear from her! More than that, Cera wished she could make them pay for what that one did to Thorn.

Cera's rage almost blinded her to the reality of the situation, that she couldn't do anything to five grown-up fast biters because of her hurt ankle. But she soon found her sanity and fear returned to her heart. "Oh, I don't want to die!" the threehorn sobbed. "I just want to make it out of here! I never should have left The Great Valley…what was I thinking I could survive out here on my own?"

The same fast biter lunged at Cera in that moment. She felt claws and teeth dig into her back. The last thing Cera would see was the fast biter tearing her back open and her spine before she fell to the ground. The other fast biters surrounded her and swiftly ripped her apart just as they had Thorn. Cera's screams would haunt the memories of anyone who may have heard them even long after they faded away.

* * *

"NO!" Cera screamed.

The threehorn's head shot up in the air and she looked around the canyon just to make sure they weren't any fast biters here. Thorn looked at her with concern. "What happened?" he asked.

"Oh, thank goodness." Cera sighed with relief before lying down by Thorn's side again. "I hope I never have a sleep story like that again…" She was breathing heavily. Thorn felt her side heaving against his side. "…it was so real. I thought you had been killed by fast biters…and then I died." Thorn only blinked. "I'm sorry for waking you. I didn't want to admit this, but I have an irrational fear of fast biters. That sleep story only made my fear so much greater."

"There's no such thing as an irrational fear for leaf eaters when it comes to sharpteeth," Thorn said. Cera knew he wasn't judging her. She realized how true that statement was. But if only he knew how afraid of fast biters she really was. "And it's alright," he added. "I wasn't asleep yet anyway. Something kept awake while you slept."

"What?" Cera asked.

"I'm not sure," he said. "Just an odd feeling, I guess. I think we should leave this canyon at first light."

"I have no problem with that," Cera remarked. "There are old fast biter footmarks here…after the sleep story I had, I don't want to see anything that reminds me of fast biters any time soon. Make that for the rest of my life!" she added coldly. "I've about had it with this place and its nightmare fuel."

Thorn rested his head over Cera's. "Just try to get back to sleep," he whispered in a soothing voice. "I won't leave you or let anything happen to you. I promise."


	14. Despair

**Chapter 13:**

 **Despair**

Petrie's mother gasped. "These aren't sharpteeth footmarks!" she said.

"Then what are they?" Mr. Threehorn asked.

"They look like footmarks of a young longneck," she answered.

"You don't think-" Grandma Longneck began.

"It can't be," her husband said. "Littlefoot and his friends promised they wouldn't follow us into The Mysterious Beyond this one time."

"Yeah, well, how many times have those kids promised us that," Mr. Threehorn scoffed, "and then followed us anyway? I don't think they kept that promise. _Again_. I don't remember a time those kids have listened when we tell them to _stay in The Great Valley_."

"You're one to talk," Petrie's mother scoffed. "Before her passing, your mother told me you snuck out of the nest all the time. More than the number of times our kids have left The Great Valley, from the sound of it."

"Humph!" Mr. Threehorn snorted, but said nothing else. The truth is, he had nothing else to say. He'd never admit that though. Especially not when Tria was around.

"Anyway…" Grandpa Longneck continued. "If the children are out here, we must find them as soon as we can. We all know they can handle themselves out here, but we can't just let the kids wander around The Mysterious Beyond by themselves."

"The worst part is," Petrie's mother interrupted, "I believe we're near fast biter territory. The kids won't be any match for a larger pack of fast biters."

"W-What makes you think that?" Ducky's mother asked nervously.

"Just look around," the flyer said. "Other than these longneck footmarks, there are some fast biter footmarks here and there." The group gasped. "I think they may have come through here, following the footmarks and the scent of whoever made them."

"There's one way we can determine whose footmarks they are," Tria said. She looked to the young sharptooth by her side. "Chomper, could you?"

"Of course," the sharptooth said. He went over to the footmarks and sniffed them. Chomper then gasped. "I smell Littlefoot…" He sniffed again. "And Ducky, Spike, Petrie, and Ruby! They all were here!"

"Oh dear," Grandma Longneck said. "And fast biters are following them…"

"We'll go on ahead," said Etta, "to see if we can find them."

"If they haven't gone on too far ahead of us already," Petrie's mother added. Then she and Etta took off in flight. They weren't sure where the other fliers had gone, but they needed to find them also so everyone knew Littlefoot and the rest of his friends were out here too. She just hoped they hadn't had any run-ins with those fast biters, or other sharpteeth, yet. Memories of her husband came back to her whenever she thought about losing Petrie or any of his siblings to sharpteeth.

"Do you really believe Littlefoot and his friends would have disobeyed us, like Mr. Threehorn said?" Ducky's mother asked the longnecks.

"I don't know what to think," Grandpa Longneck said. "If they did, we can't really blame them for following us. They are all close to Cera and wouldn't want anything to happen to her, even if they put themselves in danger's way for her."

"For as long as they've known each other," said Grandma Longneck, "they've always been willing to do about anything for each other. Especially Littlefoot and Ducky. Littlefoot has put his life at risk for his friends, and even us, more than any of them have."

"Very true," Tria said. "I don't know anyone but Littlefoot who would climb into the mouth of a sharptooth for us all."

No one in The Great Valley would ever forget that. Littlefoot had gone into The Mysterious Beyond to get a tooth from the sharptooth he'd thought died when it fell into a valley and use it to fix Saurus Rock after Cera broke one of the stone teeth off it. But when Littlefoot had propped the sharptooth's jaws open with a stick and climbed in its mouth in an attempt to break a tooth out, it woke up. Littlefoot wouldn't have made it if his grandfather and Doc, a migrating longneck, hadn't shown up to fight off that sharptooth and another that had joined in the fray. Mr. Threehorn had told Tria about it after she'd arrived in The Great Valley.

"Well," Grandpa Longneck sighed. "I believe we should follow this trail before the wind blows it away. This may be our best chance to find Cera, or the other children if it is them."

And so the small group of dinosaurs set off again, each of them in thought about Cera. They hoped she was okay, especially after finding that hole in the ground where she must have fallen if the sail-backed sharptooth didn't get her first. The adults prayed that wasn't the case. None of the other grown-ups wanted to think about what Mr. Threehorn and Tria would do if Cera had died (in The Mysterious Beyond, of all places).

* * *

Elsewhere, Littlefoot and his friends were just emerging from a small cave in the side of a cliff they'd used as refuge from the sand cloud.

"That was some sand cloud," Ducky remarked. "It was, it was."

"At least it's over," said Littlefoot. "But it changed how everything looks…" He paused, then continued uncertainly, "I'm not sure what way to go now. The sand's buried everything and I can't tell the way we came from the way we need to go."

"Me can fly up high and look," said Petrie. He flew up without waiting for Littlefoot to respond. Petrie looked across The Mysterious Beyond. It was covered with a blanket of sand as far as the flyer could see in any direction, just as it had been from Littlefoot's vantage point. Petrie, too, couldn't determine which way to go. He flew back down to the others and landed on Littlefoot's back.

"Me saw nothing," he reported. "Just sand as far as me could see." Littlefoot frowned. He was afraid Petrie was going to say that. Now it would be next to impossible to find Cera, Littlefoot thought to himself. If she had been caught in the sand cloud, Cera probably did the same thing they did, and searched for a cave to hide in, but that would make it even harder to find her. For starters, none of them knew where she was out here.

Tears started to form in Littlefoot's eyes. "We'll never find Cera," he cried. "She's been out here in The Mysterious Beyond for days and could be anywhere by now…"

"Do not say that, Littlefoot," said Ducky. She opened her mouth to continue, but…

"She's right," Ruby interrupted. "We must have faith. We'll find Cera, or she'll find us."

"That is, if sharpteeth don't first," Littlefoot said.

"We have not seen any yet," said Ducky. "I do not think we will. No, no, no."

"How do you know?" Littlefoot asked, a bit harshly. "There were footmarks of fast biters and big sharpteeth all over before the sand cloud buried everything. A sharptooth could attack us at any moment!"

Ducky backed off and started to cry a little. She couldn't blame Littlefoot for being upset, of course, but Ducky (and the others) hadn't expected Littlefoot to talk to her like that.

 _The thought of losing Cera must be really getting to Littlefoot,_ thought Ruby. _He's never talked to any of us, especially Ducky, like that before._

Littlefoot immediately realized what he'd done and said, "I'm sorry, Ducky." He paused. "I guess I'm just worrying so much about Cera and our safety that I asked too quickly…"

"It is alright, Littlefoot." Ducky smiled at him. "You have always done what you can to keep us all safe, even now."

"Ducky right," Petrie said. "If not for you, we be stranded in sand cloud until it gone," he added gratefully.

"We still appreciate all you do for us, Littlefoot," said Ruby. She smiled at him, too. "If Cera knew you were doing this for her, I think she would tell you the same thing."

"Thanks guys," Littlefoot sighed, then added, "I just wish Cera were with us now. I miss her."

"I do too," said Ducky. Petrie, Spike, and Ruby nodded in agreement. "But we will find her. I know in my heart we will, Littlefoot. We must keep looking until we do. Cera would do the same for any of us if we were in her situation."

Littlefoot was about to respond to that but he thought he heard something. He cocked his head. "Did you guys hear that too?" he asked.

"Hear what?" Ducky said.

"Me no hear anything," said Petrie.

"Me neither," said Ruby.

Spike only grunted in response. He probably said something along the lines of what Ruby or Petrie said.

Now Littlefoot didn't hear it. "I don't know," he said. "I thought it was something walking around but now it's gone."

"Maybe it was Cera?" Ducky suggested.

"I don't think so," Littlefoot replied. "It was too loud to be Cera walking."

Petrie's eyes grew wide. "S-Sharptooth!" he almost screamed. "We l-leave now?" he stammered.

"I think that may be a good idea," said Littlefoot. "Let's go before we find out what it is and wish we hadn't…" His voice trailed off from a whisper into complete silence.

"What if it's Red Claw?" Ruby asked in a whisper. "Red Claw will intrude into other sharpteeth's land even if he is not allowed there."

"I do not think it is Red Claw," said Ducky. "If it was, we would have seen Screech and Thud by now." Then she paused. "Wouldn't we?" she asked.

"Ducky's right," Littlefoot said. "We would have seen Screech and Thud by now if Red Claw was anywhere near us. They've never gone very far without the others. Where one is, the other two have to be close by."

"That is a relief," Ducky sighed. She went over to Spike and climbed up on his back. The swimmer's feet were killing her from all this walking they had done. "I think I will ride for a while," she said. "Swimmers' feet are not made for this much walking. No, no, no. We do better in water than on land."

"There it was again!" Littlefoot gasped.

"Now I hear it, too!" Ruby whimpered. She got close to Littlefoot as if he offered some sort of protection from whatever it was that made such a booming sound when it walked.

Petrie squawked in alarm. "Me too!" Ducky only screamed, then Spike ran over to Littlefoot. Petrie landed on Spike's back next to Ducky. The friends began trembling in fear as the booming sound continued to grow louder and louder.

"This is it…" Petrie whimpered. He covered his eyes with his wings, then each of his friends did the same with their paws. They didn't want to see what it was coming for them, if this would be their final moments.

"Oh no!" Ruby squealed. The booming footsteps were right around the bend from where they were. All of the friends screamed and closed their eyes again as a tall shadow was cast over them.

They swore they heard an all too familiar roar as they cowered with each other…

"RED CLAW!" Littlefoot screamed. "He is here!"

"Littlefoot!" Ducky screamed.


	15. Red Claw

**Chapter 14:**

 **Red Claw**

Red Claw roared again.

The young leaf eaters swore their ears would explode if the sharptooth roared any louder. But that was the least of their concerns right now. Red Claw held a grudge against Littlefoot and his friends for all they'd done to him, Screech, and Thud since their first encounter in the hidden canyon. And now, they had nowhere to run or hide from that spiteful sharptooth! They didn't see him yet, but they could hear him.

"Littlefoot!" Ducky screamed again. "What do we do? There's nowhere we can hide!"

Littlefoot seemed to think. He closed his eyes and didn't answer his friends as they frantically talked to him.

"Littlefoot, what are you doing?" Ruby gasped.

"Thinking," he finally said. "I faintly recognize this place, despite all the sand that has buried it." He paused for a minute. "I think it is where I met Etta after the sand cloud blew through."

"So?" said Petrie.

"I met Etta in a cave," Littlefoot explained. "If we can find that cave's opening under all this sand, we'll be safe from Red Claw."

"Ahh!" Ruby screamed. "But not Screech and Thud!"

The friends' heads spun around and looks of terror came over their faces when they saw the two fast biter brothers charging at them across the sand, their mouths dripping with saliva in anticipation of their next meal. Red Claw's roaring continued while Screech and Thud howled at the leaf eaters, who took off running as quickly as they could. But it was no good. Even Ruby, whose kind was known as "fast runners", couldn't keep a safe distance from Screech and Thud. They were just too fast to outrun. Petrie flew ahead of the group and, like Ducky if she didn't have the option to ride on Spike's back, would be struggling more than the others were to not get caught in the fast biters' snapping jaws.

"Ahh!" Littlefoot screamed. He retracted his tail to his side when Thud nearly bit the end of it off. Littlefoot looked just to be sure if was still there. _No blood_ , he thought with relief. But that relief faded away when Screech lunged through the air at Spike…

"Spike!" Littlefoot yelled. "Move to your left!"

Spike grunted in response, then did just that. And Screech howled as he face-planted into the sand. The fast biter's head disappeared under the sand, but they could still hear him snarling as he tried to break free. Thud, however, kept on going after them. Seeing how they tricked his brother seemed to have only made him all the more enraged. He snarled at Littlefoot, having heard him instruct Spike. Screech and Thud obviously couldn't speak the language of leaf eaters, but they could understand it. That put Littlefoot and his friends at a great disadvantage. Screech and Thud could understand everything they were saying. That would make it difficult to come up with any plan and tell it to the others without their pursuers knowing it, too.

"Littlefoot," cried Ruby, "do you see the cave yet?"

"No!" he gasped. Littlefoot narrowly dodged Screech biting at his side. "You?"

"No!"

"We doomed!" Petrie screeched. "There nowhere to run from Screech and Thud!"

"Don't say that, Petrie!" Littlefoot said. "I know we can get away from them…if we just find that cave."

"But Screech and Thud can follow us into it," Ruby disagreed as she came up beside Littlefoot. "We won't be any safer in a cave than out here."

"There are plenty of places to hide in a cave," Littlefoot reminded her. "Remember how much trouble we'd have trying to find you and Chomper during a game of hide-and-seek?"

Ruby gasped. "You're right!" she said. "We will be safe even if _they_ get into the cave with us."

Thud rejoined Screech in that moment. They knew Ruby was talking about them and snarled at her. Ruby was fluent in the language of sharpteeth and knew they just said something along the lines of, "Watch your mouth, hatchling, or you'll our first meal of the day when we catch you and your pathetic friends."

"Humph!" Ruby snorted.

"Huh?" Littlefoot asked.

"Them," she explained. "They said you're all pathetic."

"You speak sharptooth?!" Petrie said with alarm.

"I lived in The Mysterious Beyond long enough to learn it," she said. "But can we talk about it after we've lost Screech and Thud…" A large foot stomped down in front of the friends. They all screamed. Towering over them was Red Claw! The telltale scar down the left side of his face and his left arm confirmed their fears. No other sharptooth they knew had a scar like the scar Red Claw had. "Oh no!" Ruby screamed.

Red Claw roared at them and then lunged down with his jaws open. The friends scattered at the last minute, just as Red Claw's jaws closed down on the air where they had just been standing seconds earlier.

" _That_ too close!" Petrie said.

"Talk later," screamed Littlefoot, "run now!"

"I agree!" said Ducky, as she hopped up on Littlefoot's back. "I do, I do!"

Screech and Thud joined Red Claw as he got back up. The sharptooth growled an order as he regained his composure. The fast biters snarled in response then sprinted after the leaf eaters.

"Not again…" Littlefoot whimpered.

"They do not give up!" Ducky screamed.

"Any of you see cave yet?" Petrie asked.

"No!" the others yelled in unison.

"This may be it…" Petrie said. "We have nowhere to go…"

"Or maybe not!" Littlefoot said.

"Huh?" Spike groaned.

"Look!" the longneck cheered.

"The cave!" Ruby said. Then she screamed when Thud nearly bit the end of her tail off. She reacted by almost jumping on Littlefoot's back before screaming her head off as four sets of teeth came at them from either direction.

"Let's go!" Littlefoot ordered. "Just don't look back. Keep moving!"

"Go, go, go!" Ruby screamed.

The cave was in eyesight of the friends and the fast biters seemed to sense that. They tried getting ahead of their prey, but were unexpectedly outmaneuvered and sent crashing into a boulder. Screech and Thud groaned, shook their heads, and then got right back up to chasing the leaf eaters.

"We made it!" Ducky exclaimed. Each of the friends disappeared into the cave's mouth one-by-one, then kept on running even if they'd made it. They weren't out of danger quite yet.

"Or maybe not…" Ruby said. "Look!"

Roaring, Screech and Thud dashed into the cave after them, prompting the friends to run faster than they knew they could.

"What can we do to lose them, Littlefoot?" Ducky asked.

"There!" Littlefoot swung his head toward a smaller opening in the wall of the cave. He almost said, "Screech and Thud won't fit through that," but he knew that would have given their idea way to the fast biters if he said anything else. "Keep going. We can make it!"

"Me hope so!" Petrie screeched.

Ruby was the first to disappear through it. She turned back to almost have Petrie crash into her head when he crashed through it after her. After that, she had to dodge both Littlefoot and Spike (who had some trouble getting through, but made it after Littlefoot crashed into him). Screech and Thud, on the other hand, seemed to be stuck even when they tried getting in after their prey one at a time. They screeched, hissed, snarled, and made any other noise a sharptooth could at Littlefoot and his friends, but the truth was, nothing would get Screech nor Thud through it. Eventually, the fast biters gave up and went back to, a soon to be furious at their failure, Red Claw.

"Oh," Ruby sighed with relief, "thank goodness that is over. Now we can rest…" And then she let herself collapse at the back of the cave, near another opening that probably led deeper into it.

"I don't think we should rest here," Littlefoot cautioned. "Screech and Thud may come back with Red Claw to flush us out."

"Littlefoot right," said Petrie. "We must go further into the cave."

"Alright," Ruby yawned. "Then we can sleep?"

Littlefoot nodded, then Ruby got up to follow her friends through the fracture in the back wall of the cave. It led them into a wide-open space with fast water flowing through the center. The space's ceiling and walls were covered in something that made them shine even though there was no light from the great circle in the cave.

"Ooh," Ruby cooed. "Shiny stones everywhere." She lay down far away from the crevice they'd just crawled through. Spike quickly joined her. Ducky and Petrie would lie on the ground between Spike and Ruby's heads.

Littlefoot, however, didn't join them, and Ruby was the first to notice.

"Is something the matter?" she asked him.

"Oh, I'm just thinking about Cera again," said Littlefoot. "Our run in with Red Claw and his fast biters has me worried about her again." Then he added, "Not that I haven't stopped worrying about her since she disappeared."

"Cera is fine," said Ducky, "I am sure. She knows how to take care of herself." _I think_ , she thought, recalling all the times Cera had gotten them all into trouble. Sure, that was when they were younger, but as the grown-ups said, "Old habits die hard". Ducky wouldn't say anything about it to Littlefoot though. He seemed to be worried enough as it was.

"Come, Littlefoot," Ruby said, moving over a little. "You need some rest too, after what we went through. A few minutes of sleep never hurt."

Littlefoot figured she was right. They needed to keep going, but even he couldn't deny that they were exhausted after that chase and needed a short break. Not made a bunch of young dinosaurs more tired than narrowly escaping death at the teeth of two fast biters and a sharptooth with a grudge against them. He lay down by Ruby's opposite side from where Spike slept and closed his eyes. Littlefoot was the first to fall asleep. The others quickly followed suite, one-by-one, until they were all snoring lightly.

Littlefoot would have a sleep story about Cera. A rather worrisome one that he would hope wasn't a prediction of things to come when they awoke again. He would not tell his friends about it, to avoiding worrying them, especially after their encounter with those sharpteeth.

 _I just hope Cera doesn't have the encounter with fast biters that I saw in my sleep story_ , the longneck thought to himself. _I can't believe anyone could even have a sleep story as bad as the one I just had…I don't even think I'll be able to sleep tonight after it._

The memory of watching Cera die at the teeth and claws of sharpteeth in his sleep story was something he couldn't bear to thinking about. Yet it was something he couldn't erase from his memory. Losing Cera would be as hard on him had as losing his mother had been, Littlefoot thought as he followed his friends through the cave, looking for an exit.

 _I'll do everything I can to protect Cera when we find her,_ thought Littlefoot. _I won't let her die now, even if it means giving up my own chance at life for her. I would give up my place, without a doubt in my heart, in the circle of life for Cera if I have to._

 _Mother always said to listen to my heart, that it guides me, and that is what it is telling me now_ , he continued thinking. His friends didn't seem to notice how caught up in his thoughts he was. _I just pray it doesn't come to that. But I will do what I must to protect my friends from sharpteeth, even if I must make the same sacrifice my mother did for Cera and I when we were hatchlings._

"Littlefoot?" Ruby asked in a worried voice. "Are you alright? You're far behind us."

"Oh," he gasped. Littlefoot ran to catch up with his friends. "Sorry, I was just thinking…I know, I'm starting to sound like I'm saying the same thing every time I slow you all down."

"Do not be sorry, Littlefoot," said Ducky. "You are deeply worried about Cera. We all are thinking about her. There is no need to be sorry about worry over Cera."

"Cera wouldn't want you to be so worried about her," Ruby tried to assure him.

"You're right," Littlefoot said. He had to force a smile, though.

There was still more worry for Cera in his heart after the sleep story he had then there was hope. Littlefoot knew he wouldn't stop worrying about Cera until they found her and got her back to The Great Valley alive.

He'd probably make her promise him to never leave The Great Valley by herself again when they were safe and sound in their home again. Littlefoot couldn't ever remember being this worried in recent time. Not since his grandfather had been ill with an unknown sickness and their only hope of saving him was a misty valley somewhere in The Mysterious Beyond, where "the night flower" existed.

And maybe when Chomper had fallen into the big water around the island he used to live on with his parents, after the fight between Chomper's parents and the plated-back sharptooth.

Littlefoot interrupted those thoughts with another about Cera:

 _Oh,_ _please be alright, Cera. I don't want to lose you…_


	16. A New Friend

**Chapter 15:**

 **A New Friend**

"Where do we go now?" asked Ruby. She and Spike were walking on either side of Littlefoot through the cave, following the fast water. Ruby hadn't been with them the last time, but that was how Littlefoot and his friends plus Etta had found their way out of this cave at the start of spring.

"We'll have to keep following the fast water," Littlefoot said, "until it leads us to a way out." Ruby now remembered Littlefoot's story of the last time he and his other friends were in a similar situation, coincidentally, also due to a sharptooth that had trapped them all, minus Littlefoot, had been cornered under a ledge. "I think we are getting close to it. Once we see the cave with the green food that glows in the dark, we are close to the way out."

"Thank goodness," Ruby sighed. "I've never been a huge fan of being in dark caves like this…" Her voice trailed off. She'd rather not talk about her fears right in, in the middle of The Mysterious Beyond. A region of The Mysterious Beyond Ruby hadn't been to before, no less. She felt like a stranger in her birthplace, being in this unfamiliar region of The Mysterious Beyond. Ruby hadn't felt this uncomfortable with a location since her early days in The Great Valley.

She'd thought everyone would confuse her for egg stealers, an unfortunately common misinterpretation of Ruby's kind. Although Ruby's kind—fast runners, not egg runners—only ate green food, sweet bubbles, and snapping shells, other dinosaurs often confused fast runners for egg stealers, and thought the terms were interchangeable when talking about them. Sometimes it even offended Ruby that dinosaurs could make such a mistake about identifying her kind.

"Could we not just let the fast water carry us through the cave like last time?" Ducky suggested. "There is the falling water to worry about, but it would get us through the cave quicker. It would."

"She right," said Petrie.

Ducky would have been right otherwise, but there was something her and Petrie hadn't realized. "We aren't heading toward the fire mountain, though," said Littlefoot. "Cera didn't go that way."

"Ohhh…" Ducky said.

"And…" Littlefoot continued, but sounded a bit guilty as he spoke. "…I think I know why Cera is out here. I didn't hear the grown-ups talking about it, but we all know what happened to Cera's mother and sisters. They were a part of the herd led into a fast biter attack by Pterano on our families' journey to The Great Valley." Littlefoot paused. "And I think she came out here to try and find where Pterano led them, the place they died."

"But that is in fast biter territory!" Ducky gasped. She nearly fell backwards into Petrie and right off Spike's back. Petrie squawked and flew toward Ruby, then perched among the feathers on her back.

"Fast biter?!" Petrie screeched. "No!"

"That is what worries me," said Littlefoot. "She can't expect to go there by herself. We have to find Cera before she reaches that canyon."

"Oh," Ruby cried a little, "how I wish we knew where Cera was…"

"I do too," Littlefoot said with a glum look on his face.

"Me too," Ducky and Petrie said in unison.

"Mmm," Spike mumbled. He usually didn't talk like the others did, but they still knew what he meant.

"Well," Littlefoot sighed. "We had better find a way out of here before Screech and Thud find a way in. They always seem to get around things sooner or later."

"He's right," said Ruby. "If we want to lose them and Red Claw, we must keep moving. They won't be able to track us if we get far enough away from here quickly."

"That would be a relief," Ducky remarked. "I do not like being chased by fast biters. No, no, no."

"Me neither," said Petrie. He shuddered at the thought of being chased by Screech and Thud, or Red Claw, again. "Me rather stay in this cave than do that again." A spooky sound that echoed through the cave made Petrie nearly jump out of his skin. "Or maybe me not after all!" he squawked. "What was that?!"

"Something that does not want us here," Ducky whispered. "That is for sure…"

"I agree," Littlefoot said nervously. "I think we'd better get going…" He walked toward the opening in the cave where the fast water flowed. Without having time to react, something dashed past Littlefoot's feet, screeching. It was a tiny sharptooth, a common sight in The Great Valley since they only ate crawlers. Some preferred to call them "tiny fast runners", as opposed to "tiny sharpteeth", even though they had sharp teeth for eating crawlers. They were on good terms with other residents in The Great Valley, so Littlefoot and his friends didn't understand why this one was in The Mysterious Beyond by herself.

"Umm," Littlefoot said, "hello?"

The tiny sharptooth only screeched at Littlefoot, then ran off in the direction they just came from.

"T-That may not be a good sign," Ruby stammered. "I think she was running away from something."

"B-But what?" Petrie whimpered.

"Come this way!" a voice called. "Quickly!"

"Who said that?" Littlefoot asked.

"The tiny sharptooth you nearly stepped on!" the voice came again. "Don't go that way if you want to live."

"Huh?!" the friends gasped together.

"There are two fast biters at that end of the cave trying to get in," she said. "Screech and Thud, I think. I barely made it this far!"

"Oh no!" Ducky gasped. "Now we have no way out!"

"Follow me and you will," the tiny sharptooth said, coming back into view. "I know these caves well. Better than anyone in this area does." Then she screamed, "Those two killed anyone else that knew this place well! RUN!" And then the tiny sharptooth was gone again.

"Ahh!" Ruby screamed and followed her.. "I'm with the tiny fast runner!"

Screech and Thud began breaking through the opening where the fast water flowed, albeit struggling as they did. Littlefoot and Spike, with Ducky on her brother's back, ran after Ruby and the tiny sharptooth before the fast biters could get to them.

"Just keep following me!" the tiny sharptooth ordered. "I know a place they can never reach us. I'll get you all out of this."

"Oh, me hope so!" Petrie cried.

They could hear Screech and Thud howling, and rocks shattering as they broke into the cave. Their footfalls echoed through the cave, telling the group that the two fast biters were onto them, and running this way!

"They're coming!" Littlefoot screamed.

"It's only a little further!" the tiny sharptooth said. "We can make it!"

She ran ahead of them and toward a crevice in the cave wall. "This way, quickly," she said, and then was gone. Ruby and Ducky disappeared first, then Spike attempted to squeeze through and got stuck.

"Spike!" Littlefoot and Ducky cried from both sides of the crevice. On the inside, his friends started pulling to get him through while Littlefoot pushed.

"Ahhhh!" Littlefoot screamed. Screech and Thud stuck their heads into the cave. Their mouths dripped with saliva as they stalked toward Littlefoot slowly, to fill his heart with fear. "Come on, Spike," he said, "walk as I push you. They're coming!"

Spike groaned as he walked in place and his friends pushed and pulled him. At the last minute, Littlefoot and Spike crashed through the crevice into the others. The tiny sharptooth jumped out of the way after looking back to see what all the commotion was about. Screech and Thud only bit empty air, then left, feeling defeated yet again.

Littlefoot was flat on his back, lying over Ruby as if she were a stone. Ducky had landed sideways across Littlefoot's neck, Petrie under Ruby's tail, and Spike against the back wall of the chamber.

"Ohhh," Littlefoot groaned. "That was a close one…" He shook his head and got up.

"I hope we never do that again…" Ruby groaned. "I think I hit my head against the cave's wall…Ow…" She got up slowly, and it still made her dizzy.

"Me feel like me got crushed by a boulder…" Petrie groaned as she crawled across the ground without standing up.

"Excuse me?" Ruby gasped. "That was my tail that 'crushed' you."

"Oh." Petrie was alarmed. He chuckled innocently as he stood up. "Sorry," he said apologetically.

"I feel like I went through an earthshake," Ducky whispered. "I do…I do…Oh, my head…"

Littlefoot stood up weakly. When he regained some of his composure, he said to the tiny sharptooth, "Thank you."

"It was nothing," she said. "I would have done it for anyone to save them from those two fast biters. I don't know where my family is because of them."

Ruby gasped. "They separated you from your family, too?" she asked. "Screech, Thud, and Red Claw separated me from my family when I was only a baby."

"They separated me from my family when I was only an egg," she said. "I never knew any of my family. Of what little I can remember, they didn't get to me when I was an egg because my mom and dad had hidden me in the trunk of a dying tree where other dinosaurs couldn't get to me. I have _nothing_ but hate in my heart for those two and nothing will change my feelings toward them."

"Wow," Ruby said. She couldn't believe it. "And I thought I had it bad…I'm so sorry about your family."

"Thank you," the tiny sharptooth sighed. "But I always hope one day I'll see them again someday. I believe they are still alive. I've never seen any sign of them still being around, but I have faith that they are."

Littlefoot stepped forward. "They are a lot of your kind in The Great Valley," he said. "Do you want to come with us back to The Great Valley?"

"I would but…" she said, "what is The Great Valley?"

Everyone gasped. They'd never met a dinosaur who hadn't heard of The Great Valley.

"It's the best place in the world for leaf eaters," Littlefoot continued. "No sharpteeth at all, other than one that we raised from a hatchling, and of course your kind."

"That sounds perfect," the tiny sharptooth said almost happily. Then her tone changed. "Do you think my family could be there?"

"They could be," said Littlefoot. "I see tiny sharpteeth like you every day. We get along with them well. Though I have not taken the time to talk with any to know if there are any who lost an egg. I'm sorry."

"It's alright," she said. "You've given me enough hope that I may meet my family yet. I'll come with you to this 'great valley'. Even if my family isn't there, it'll be a better place to live than here if I don't have to worry about the likes of Screech and Thud having me for dinner every day."

Ducky came up beside Littlefoot. "If you do not mind me ask," she said. "What is your name? You saved our lives and to properly thank you, we would like to know your name if that is not asking too much."

"It isn't," she said. "It probably isn't what my parents would have named me if they'd been around for my hatching, but the flyer that raised me used to call me 'Sari'."

"Used to?" Petrie asked. Then he said, "Oops," upon realizing he shouldn't have said that.

"It's alright," Sari said. "The flyer that raised me at a place I believe was called 'Black Rock' went blind and couldn't take care of me anymore."

"Blind flyer?" Petrie gasped. "Black rock? That's Swooper! Me know him. He at Great Valley with me family."

"He is?!" Sari gasped. "Oh, that makes me so happy to know he's alright. I was worried all this time something bad would happen to him after he went blind and I had to leave him alone at Black Rock. Swooper was like a father to me. I will look for him as soon as we get back to your valley." She paused. "Now…I answered your questions, so I have one for you: What are you all doing out here without any adults?"

Littlefoot decided to answer this time. "Our friend, a threehorn called Cera, came out here to look for where her mom and sisters were led into a fast biter ambush by someone our parents knew. She came out here alone and we're trying to find her before she gets in more trouble than she can handle. Where she's headed may be in the middle of fast biter territory…"

"Oh dear," Sari said. "Your friend is brave, I'll give her that. I wouldn't have the spine to do what she is doing. But I think I may know what canyon you are talking about. I've seen fast biters, those with gray bodies and dark stripes down their backs, gathering in a canyon filled with skeletons of all kinds of dinosaurs, including a family of threehorns, with long-dried blood all over. But I didn't stick around long, they almost spotted me."

"Can you take us there?" Littlefoot asked. "I think our friend may be heading there."

"I will take you there," she said, "but on one condition: I will _not_ take responsibility or the blame from your families if anything happens to you there. You all seem to already know what kind of trouble you may get yourselves into if we do go."

* * *

 **Author's note:** Thanks to Protonix for giving some suggestions for the name of the Compsognathus OC I introduced in this chapter. They were all really good, but "Sari" stuck out to me the most after a few minutes of thought.


	17. Bad Feelings

**Chapter 16:**

 **Bad Feelings  
**

"I don't like this place," Cera said to Thorn. "Just being here gives me a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach…"

"Me too," he whispered back. "I don't know what it is, but I hope we're out of this place quickly."

Other than old fast biter footmarks, the land here wasn't exactly appealing to leaf eaters. No plants or water as far as they could see. The earth beneath their feet was riddled with cracks formed from the lack of water in this region, and the great circle beating down on it constantly. Not even taking the broken skeletons of dinosaurs that littered the landscape, everything here seemed dead other than Thorn and Cera. Not even any living sharpteeth to speak of, although that was not something the threehorns could complain about. It was one less thing for them to worry about, other than finding food and water to survive.

They seemed to have wandered into another region that had suffered from a drought, just like where Cera and Littlefoot were born, and went from a field to a desert as a result, but they hoped to stumble across an oasis in the middle of it before it got dark out. They'd just woke up, but hadn't eaten or drank anything yet. Their mouths were already about as parched as the ground was. Cera couldn't help but smack her lips to keep some moisture in her mouth, even if it made noise that could draw unwanted attention. She didn't have much choice, really. On the bright side, any sharpteeth in the area (if any) probably would be too exhausted from lack of food and water to chase after them, or at the least, keep up with them in a chase.

"I'm about to the point where I'd beg for water if it would help…" Cera whispered. "My mouth has never been this dry before," she complained weakly. Her stomach growled constantly and it drove her nuts. Then again, so did the feeling of being hungry and thirsty! She couldn't take it much longer. The heat beating down on them from The Great Circle didn't help matters any. She wished it would be night already or clouds would block it out for a few hours, or something would happen that would cool them off. Cera hated sky water and the storms that came with them, but she would have a change of heart toward it for now given their current situation. Sky water, despite Cera's feelings toward it, would be the best thing that could happen right about now, she thought. Cera sensed Thorn felt the same way she did.

But no matter how much the pair of threehorns hoped for sky water, they doubted it was going to happen. The land was to dry and cracked, and the great circle was beating down on the land, and them, too powerful. On top of that, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, which meant no sky water any time soon. Cera wanted to curse this land and The Great Circle, which usually was something respected among the dinosaurs, especially leaf eaters. Cera wished the damn thing would just go away until they found green food and water to fill their bellies! Cera stomped her feet, which only accomplished putting more cracks in the ground. Other than starvation and dehydration, the threehorns were worried about fire. The lack of water made the chance of fires happening even more likely, despite the lack of trees or bushes to get a fire going.

The thought of fire brought Cera back to the time The Great Valley experienced a drought after a falling rock blocked off the thundering falls' source in The Mysterious Beyond. Her father had thought he could get her to safety, and not if she went under the leadership of Littlefoot's grandfather like the others had, but his stubbornness at the time almost got him and Cera both killed in the fire. If it hadn't been for, ironically, Littlefoot's grandfather, they would have perished with much of The Great Valley's green food. Secretly, Cera would never forgive her dad for that, and his treatment of Littlefoot over "wasting water" when it hadn't even been his fault.

Those stupid bullies—Hyp, Mutt, and Nod—had shoved Littlefoot off a ledge right into one of the lakes, and then run off before they could be blamed by Mr. Threehorn and others for it. But at least now, Cera and her friends were all on good terms with them after they'd worked together to save their families, and other grown-ups from a pack of fast biters. That wasn't to say, though, she would forgive them easily for their past actions, which had led to some of the tension between her and her father during the drought. They'd almost gotten her and Littlefoot split up for good, and she would NOT let that go easily. There were still times Cera wanted to put one her horns through Hyp and make him HURT for all the grief he'd caused in the past. Cera didn't forgive easily, unless it was Littlefoot or other friends she couldn't stay angry with for long, no matter what the cause for her angry.

"As long as we don't run into any sharpteeth," said Thorn, "we should be alright."

"It's not sharpteeth I'm worried about in a place like this," said Cera. "Its fires." She saw the fire that almost claimed her and her dad's lives in her mind again when she said that. "I've had bad experiences as a hatchling with droughts and fires...I'd rather not talk about it beyond that. It just makes me angry with my dad to think about what his stubbornness did."

"What did he do?" Thorn asked. Then he realized he shouldn't have. "Sorry," he said.

"It's fine," Cera said. "His stubbornness almost got us both killed. He thought he could get me to safety from the fire without help from the longnecks. Well, he was _wrong_."

Thorn blinked. He couldn't believe it. A dad who did something that almost got his daughter killed? Thorn hadn't heard a lot before he was orphaned, but that was one thing he'd been told was unheard of according to his parents. They'd told him a dad was supposed to protect his family, not make a decision that gets them into danger, or in Cera's case, almost killed.

"I don't want to sound rude, " Thorn said, "but with what you've told me about him, I don't know if I'd want to meet your dad."

"You'd be lucky not to meet him," Cera told him. "He's not like he used to be, but dad still has his moments that make me want to scream my head off. And you know, we threehorns usually take a lot of pressure before we scream." Thorn nodded. "My dad can make a threehorn crack under pressure quicker than a sharptooth attack could. And that is no exaggeration, whether you believe it or not."

"It's shocking," said Thorn, "but I believe you. I can't believe a threehorn could be like your dad is though. Of what little memory I have of my parents, I remember my dad being a kind soul who'd only hurt sharpteeth. He wasn't anything like how you described your dad. But-"

"Shh," Cera hushed him suddenly. "Did you hear that?"

"No," he said. "What?"

"I'm not sure," she whispered, "if it was just the wind, another dinosaur, or what, but I swore I heard SOMETHING just now." Thorn didn't say anything else. She paused. "There! I heard it again! It's no dinosaur."

"Huh?" Thorn gasped. "What does it sound like?"

"At first I thought it was the wind," said Cera, "but it sounds raspier and crackling like the sound made after sky lightning, but not as loud. It sounds like it's a good distance off. I still don't know what it is though. I can't really describe what I'm hearing."

"What are we going to do?"

"Find out what it is," she told him. "It sounds like it's coming closer." She turned tail toward Thorn. "Wait here." Cera ran toward a mound of earth, like a small hill, to get a better view of the landscape. She looked around, eyes keened like a flyer's would be, for the source of that sound, whatever it is. A minute or two later, the threehorn's heart sank. She saw it and wanted to run screaming like a hatchling.

"Thorn, get moving!" Cera cried.

"What is it?" Thorn gasped.

"FIRE!" she screamed. "I hoped it wouldn't be, but it is, so run like a sharptooth is on your tail! The flames are coming right this way and the wind is only making it worse!"

Thorn disappeared like a leaf made a leaf disappear. Cera had to dash like a fast biter to catch up with him. "Stay in a group!" she warned him. "That is what you do in the middle of a blazing fire, not split up. My dad made that mistake and you remember my story." Thorn only nodded nervously. He didn't want to die or see anything happen to Cera either. "Just run for those rocks over there, then we can make a plan there. We should be safe from the fire, for a short time anyway, there." _I hope_ , she thought.

"Cera!" Thorn cried. She saw it before he could finish warning her. An ocean of fire rushed over the dry earth and nearly took Cera with it. She squealed like a baby threehorn would when frightened during a storm. "RUN!"

"Just don't look back!" Cera squealed again. "The flames are moving faster than I first thought!"

Thorn didn't even speak. He ran and nothing else, like running was the only thing he knew how to do right now. Cera ran with the same mentality. All she cared about now was their survival, not talking, and doing anything to make sure they got away from the ocean of fire on their tail like an enraged sharptooth. Cera tried not to let memories of that last fire her dad led her into come back to. They only distracted her from what was going on now, and that could get her killed. She couldn't afford to let her fear of fire get the better of her now. Cera and Thorn needed each other, and both thought about how they couldn't let the other be alone out here. Cera was especially determined not to die—she still hadn't reached her journey's end or told Thorn how she really felt about him. There was still so much she, and Thorn of course, wanted to do with their lives. They couldn't—no, _wouldn't_ —let some fire get in the way of that!

"I-I think I know the cause for the fire!" Thorn gasped.

"What?"

"Fire rock!"

Cera looked ahead.

"Oh no!" Cera screeched to a stop. "We're trapped!" Behind the pair, an ocean of fire was advancing on them. In front of them, the ground split wide open, and fire rock gurgled out of it. Cera nearly stood on her hind legs to avoid being splashed by the hot liquid. She remembered what it had done to Pat, a longneck who saved her and her friends from a sharptooth—twice—when his leg slipped into fire rock.

"What do we do?" Thorn asked frantically.

"I don't know!" Cera yelled. "I just don't, alright!" Her head spun around, looking back-and-forth between the fire rock and the ocean of fire. She didn't see a way out of this. _Oh, this might be it for us..._ Cera thought. _We're doomed..._


	18. Cera Faces Her Fears

**Chapter 17:**

 **Cera Faces Her Fears**

"What do we do, Cera?" Thorn asked frantically.

"I already told you I _don't know_ ," Cera barked, "so quit asking me!"

Thorn backed off. He couldn't blame Cera for being upset right now. They were closer to death than either of them ever had been and neither threehorn knew what to do to get out of this alive.

"Wait, wait," Cera said. She turned around, then squinted her eyes to look that way. The heat was intense, but squinting lessened how greatly it affected Cera's eyes. "I think I see…" She paused. "…a way out…there! Come on!"

"I don't see it!" Thorn said.

"Just follow me," she said, "there's a gap in the fire this way. If we hurry, we can get through it!"

Thorn said nothing else. He only ran after Cera, as he could given that the heat from the fire had a great impact on how well he could see. If it weren't for Cera's orange hide sticking out from the red flames and the smoke, Thorn probably wouldn't be able to follow her. But even then, he struggled to follow Cera. The heat was becoming too much for his eyes to handle. Cera thought the same thing, but she tried not to let it bother her any. That was only one thing Cera tried not to let bother her. The other was her almost irrational fear of fire—she was trying with all her might not to let the ocean of fire on all sides of them get to her and cloud her judgment. If her judgment was clouded any, it may result in her and Thorn's deaths.

"We're almost there," Cera said. "Don't stop now!"

"Cera, stop!" Thorn cried.

"What? No!"

"CERA!" he screamed.

Cera screeched to a stop, squealing in terror. The ground split right before her and a wall of hot steam shot out. "No!" she growled. "We were _so_ close!"

"There must be another way…"

"Well, there isn't!" Cera snapped at him. "We're dead and nothing will change that now!"

"You may be wrong," said Thorn. "Look! The steam, it's going away. We can get over it if we jump now."

"But—"

"There's no time for arguing, just jump!" Thorn said. Then he poked Cera's hindquarters with his horn. She screamed as that action provoked her to jump right across the crevice in the ground.

"Thorn, ju—"

The steam shot up from the crevice again, blocking Cera's view of Thorn, and nearly scalding her face. She backed away at the last second. "Thorn!" she cried. "Are you alright? I can't see you!" No answer. "THORN!"

"I'm here," Thorn's voice came, albeit muffled. "I'm alright. Barely…" Thorn, too, waited for the wall of steam to go away. His heart was beating every second, as while he waited, the ocean of fire burned closer to him. Finally, the wall of steam disappeared, but just as the flames reached him…

Cera heard Thorn's screams and covered her eyes as she ducked on the ground to dodge the flames that shot over her. When it was over, she uncovered her eyes, and screamed, "No, Thorn!"

Then she heard a sound that gave her some hope. Cera looked over the edge to see Thorn hanging off it by only his front legs, and with his hind legs on a small rock sticking out of the cliffside. The hope she'd felt left as quickly as it came. She didn't know what to do to get him up. But she had to do something. The stream was getting ready to shoot out of this crevice again.

"Cera, just get out of here!" Thorn pleaded. "You can't help me."

"Forget it!" Cera yelled. "I leave _no one_ behind."

"But—"

"Don't give me that," she said. "I'm not leaving you without trying. Don't you try to convince me of anything else, you got that?"

"Alright but—" He stopped there. He knew Cera wouldn't want to hear it. She'd clearly do anything for him, no matter to risk.

Cera bent down over the ledge. "Grab my frill," she said. "Quickly!"

As best a threehorn could, Thorn reached up and his paws gripped over Cera's frill. Digging her front and hind legs into the dirty, and snorting, Cera began backing up. Thankfully, the only steam right now was that coming out of Cera's nostrils when she snorted. "Don't let go, Thorn," she said. "You're almost out of it."

"Hurry, hurry!" Thorn cried. "I think it's about to explode! I don't want to d—"

Cera grunted, then flipped backward to get him out of the crevice in time. They crashed over each other onto the ground just in time. All they could see was a wall of steam bursting from the ground, as the two threehorns panted with relief. Cera got up first and shook her head, then Thorn followed. He couldn't believe it. They were still alive and, even better, safe from the fire now. It couldn't get them over the crevice.

Then Thorn looked at Cera. "Cera," he said. "Thank you…"

"Let's exchange thanks later," she said. "We'd better get out of here before that fire finds another way to get us. I don't want to take any more chances in a place like this."

Thorn nodded tiredly. "I agree," he said. "I think I've had enough of hot water and fire for a lifetime…"

"It's still early," Cera said, relieved he was okay. "I think once we find somewhere safe, we should rest for a bit. A little break never hurt anyone…"

"I could go for that." Thorn nodded. "I think I've had enough danger for today." Cera agreed. Although she knew better, considering where they were, she still hoped they wouldn't get into any more danger before they got back to The Great Valley. But it would probably only be something she hoped for. There was no such thing as being safe in The Mysterious Beyond. If not sharpteeth or stinging crawlers, it was the planet itself trying to kill them!

"I'll be happy to get back to The Great Valley," Cera said. She couldn't hide how tired she was. Neither could Thorn. "At least the ground there doesn't try and kill you like it does here…" Cera yawned.

"There aren't earthshakes in The Great Valley?" Thorn asked. He seemed confused.

"There are," she said, "but not very often. I don't think anyone could tell you the last time we had to deal with an earthshake in The Great Valley. The last time I remember one happening, I was barely past my hatchling days."

"It really does sound like a great place to live," Thorn remarked. "I wish The Mysterious Beyond could be like it," he added. "I don't know how I survived all this time with all those sharpteeth that passed by the cave I lived in up until meeting you."

"The Mysterious Beyond will never be a good place to live," Cera said bitterly. "Not with sharpteeth like Red Claw, Screech, and Thud filling everyone's hearts with fear. Something needs to be done about Red Claw. Maybe without him to lead them, Screech and Thud could fit in with other fast biters."

"I know a little about Red Claw," Thorn said. "Too bad there aren't any sharpteeth in The Mysterious Beyond who could do something about him. I've heard fast runners talking outside that cave you fell into about how he's the 'biggest and meanest' sharptooth since this 'Sharptooth' I've heard about."

"He's nothing like Sharptooth," Cera interrupted. "According to my father, Sharptooth killed my grandmother when I was still an egg, and later Littlefoot, a friend of mine, a longneck, told me his mother was killed by Sharptooth. He witnessed her death. Red Claw will never live up to the things Sharptooth did to split families apart. He was worse than any earthshake ever could be at doing that."

A snarl split the air.

"Speaking of sharpteeth…" Thorn said.

"We'd better get moving."

And then two fast biters appeared, jumping over a mass of boulders. They were enraged, their eyes burning red like the flames Cera and Thorn had just escaped, and their jaws dripping with saliva.

"Too late…" Thorn gasped.

"Screech and Thud!" Cera screamed.

Then came an even louder roar. Following the two fast biters was a sharptooth with a scar Cera would always recognize. "And Red Claw!" she added. "Run!"

Red Claw roared an order at Screech and Thud, who howled back at him before lunging down from the boulders at the two threehorns. Cera fell flat on her back to avoiding being jumped on. She screamed her head off as a set of jaws went for her throat.

"Cera!" Thorn cried. "You get away from her!" And then he head-butted Screech in the gut. Thorn was surprised to see the fast biter go reeling backwards right into his companion, which in turn led to both fast biters tumbling into Red Claw's foot. Red Claw tripped over the fast biters and howled as he fell.

The fast biters screamed and dashed off in either direction to avoid being crushed under Red Claw's weight. Red Claw groaned for a minute, then when he regained his senses, snarled at Thorn for what he'd done. Screech and Thud came right back, took another order from Red Claw, and then were on the threehorns' tails again.

"They just don't give up!" Thorn gasped.

"Then we can't give up either!" Cera snorted. She blew steam from her noises, scraped her front right foot into the dirt, and charged right at the fast biters bellowing at the top of her lungs.

Screech and Thud were alarmed at the sight of such a young threehorn charging at them. Their eyes become wide and, before they knew it, Cera sent Thud reeling across the ground, entirely unconscious. Screech attempted to run off, but Cera wasn't about to let either of these fast biters get off easily this time. She charged after him as he backed off and ran the horn on her nose into Screech's ankle. Blood sprayed Cera's face as the fast biter screamed, but she didn't care.

"Consider yourselves lucky!" Cera barked at the fast biters, who struggled to get up as their ankles bled. They'd been about to attack Cera but their blood dripping from her horn made them change their minds. They screamed and ran off, even ignoring Red Claw's orders to get them.

Red Claw decided to take matters into his own hands. The sharptooth stomped toward Cera and Thorn. Thorn was worried, but Cera stood her ground. "If you're smart," Cera said, "you'll follow your fast biter lackeys you rock head. I've had it with your kind." Then she yelled, "Did you understand me? Beat it you worthless excuse of a dinosaur!"

Red Claw's eyes become wide, even his bad one. He was still considering continuing his advance on them, though. That is, until Cera began snorting and scraping her foot into the burnt soil. Steam blew out her nostrils as if they were steam vents. Red Claw roared, and then turned around to catch up with Screech and Thud before they got too far away.

"And stay gone!" Cera screamed.

Now it was Thorn's turn to be wide-eyed. Of course, he hadn't seen much in his life to begin with, having lived in that cave for most of it before Cera came around, but what he saw in this moment was something he'd never thought he would witness. Cera wasn't just even a grown-up threehorn yet, but her ankle still hadn't fully healed. He couldn't believe all she'd done with a partially broken ankle that was casted with dried mud and leaves. Well, had been before Cera fought off Screech and Thud. The fragments of mud and leaves that had made up the cast over her ankle now lay all over the ground.

Cera was still incensed even though the sharpteeth were long gone.

"Cera, Cera," Thorn said urgently. "They're gone. You can calm down now!"

"Sorry," Cera said. "I guess I couldn't control my anger."

"Don't be sorry," Thorn said. "It's your anger that saved both our lives, and for that, I owe you one."

Cera sighed. She was starting to calm down. "It was nothing," she said. "I enjoyed it. It was about time someone gave those rock heads a scare they'll never forget. Maybe they'll learn not to mess with just any threehorn next time. I don't think we'll see them any time soon."

Then she started groaning, "Oh, but my ankle is making me regret scrapping my foot in the dirt like that…"


	19. The Canyon of Skeletons

**Chapter 18:**

 **The Canyon of Skeletons**

Cera gasped. "I don't like the looks of this place," she whispered to Thorn.

All around this canyon, there were bleached skeletons of dinosaurs, all of which had been leaf eaters in life. Some of their skulls were stuck in expressions of agony, as if they'd suffered or seen something terrible before they died. The sight of several dead threehorns made Cera and Thorn feel uncomfortable just being here. Their rib cages were shattered and their skulls dislocated from their necks, and the bodies half-sunk in tar pits. They seemed to have been in this way for some time. That gave them some comfort, that whatever killed these poor dinosaurs may be long gone.

"What could have done this?" Thorn asked.

"Fast biters," said Cera. "But I've never seen anything like this before…there are skeletons no matter where we look. It's like we're living a nightmare."

"I was thinking the same thing…"

"We should get going before the fast biters come back," Cera said. "I know it looks like they haven't been here for some time, but we can't take any chances after all that's happened to us with the earthshakes and then Red Claw. We've been lucky so far, but we must get far away from here before that luck runs out. In a place like The Mysterious Beyond, luck can only get you so far."

"This is the only luck I've had out here," Thorn said sarcastically, "so I must still have a lot of luck to enjoy."

"This isn't a time joking," Cera said sternly. "Especially not about our situation."

"That wasn't a joke," said Thorn. "The good fortunate, despite the dangers we've faced, that we've had is about the only luck I've had in my life."

Cera didn't respond.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. "Other than being here, of course."

"Sort of," Cera said. "It's just, I can't stop thinking about my friends. They must be so worried right now and I can't help but feel guilty." She ignored the sounds of sharpteeth roaring far off in the distance. They wouldn't get to her or Thorn before they were long gone. She hoped anyway.

"I don't think you should feel bad about leaving your friends in the dark about what you are doing," said Thorn. "You didn't do it to intentionally worry them, but to protect them from the dangers of The Mysterious Beyond. In my eyes, that makes you the greatest friend anyone could ever ask for. You put yourself in harm's way without telling your friends to keep them safe."

"You're right," Cera said. She looked up from the ground at Thorn. "Thank you." Then she said, "Now we should get going. This place is starting to give me the creeps. Besides, we should get out of here before it gets dark. All these skeletons tell me this may not be a place you want to be, especially after it gets dark out."

Thorn's expression became one of terror. "I think now is not the time to be here either," he said in a shaky voice.

"Why?" Cera asked.

"That!"

Cera turned her head toward the way they'd come. She gasped. The two threehorns saw shadows cast along the rock wall before them. The jaws of whatever the shadows belonged to gnashed together as the sharpteeth approached the canyon.

"F-F-Fast biters!" Cera screamed. And then she was gone. Cera took off down the canyon screaming, and Thorn ran after her just as the fast biters appeared around the bend. They each had gray skin and dark stripes down their backs to the ends of their tails. Cera hadn't taken the time to notice, but these fast biters were of the same kind described by Littlefoot's grandfather when he told the story of why Pterano was on bad terms with everyone in The Great Valley. They'd attacked and killed every one of the dinosaurs who followed Pterano, including Cera's mom and sisters. If Cera learned these fast biters had possibly taken her mom and sisters from her, they may just wind up being the ones running from her.

"Did they see us?" Thorn asked frantically.

"I don't think so," Cera panted. Her bad ankle was starting to bother her again. "They aren't chasing us. Now let's keep it that way. I've had it with being chased by sharpteeth, and my ankle doesn't help matters any. It's doing better, but I haven't had the chance to rest it."

"Maybe we can stop running—" Thorn began.

"I don't think so," she cut him off mid-sentence. "They're coming this way…"

"Wait," he said suddenly.

"What? Are you crazy?"

"No, listen. I know this part of the canyon. There's an opening into a cave somewhere. If we can find it, we'll be safe from those fast biters, and have a good place to rest."

"Well, then I'll follow you," Cera said.

Thorn took the lead and led her down the opposite path they'd been about to take. The path was littered with rocks, but the pair of threehorns probably wouldn't need to worry—the fast biters still weren't following them for some reason.

 _Maybe they actually didn't see us,_ Thorn thought. _Talk about a lucky break, if they didn't._ Then they heard a growl. _Or maybe not…_ "Cera, I think they're coming," he said. "I heard something from around the bend."

"Whatever it is won't catch us," she said, "because we aren't going that way. Now, where's that cave?" she asked.

"It should be near," he whispered. "But do keep your voice low. We don't want the fast biters finding us." He paused to look around. Cera stopped behind him. Thorn gasped suddenly. "There it is," he said, almost forgetting to keep his voice low. "Hurry. I think the fast biters are getting near."

Thorn helped get Cera up—she'd sat down to rest her ankle when Thorn stopped running—and then the pair ran for the crevice in the wall. Thorn told Cera to go first, which she did, and then he followed her. And without a minute to spare: just as they disappeared into the cave, the fast biters darted into the canyon. They looked and sniffed around, growling all the while, but left when they couldn't find Cera and Thorn's scent trails.

Cera groaned. "Ohh…" Now not only did her ankle hurt, her back hurt. She'd tripped over a stone jutting out of the ground and somersaulted across the ground, only to wind up flat on her back with her hind legs sprawled out in front of her. She closed her eyes tight. Cera had hit her head; she appeared to be half-unconscious.

"So much for good luck," she growled. "This place is trying to kill me, even the land."

Thorn didn't say anything as he crouched down to help Cera up. He gently pushed his nose horn against Cera's side until she sat up. "Well, we're safe…for now," he said.

"Safe?" Cera laughed sarcastically. "There is no safe place in The Mysterious Beyond and there never will be. Something is always trying to kill you, whether it is sharpteeth, ground crawlers, or the land itself. I tell you, Thorn, after I find what I am looking for, I will _never_ consider heading this far into The Mysterious Beyond by myself again."

"It hasn't been all bad, though," said Thorn. "You found me."

Cera relaxed, then tried to hide that she was blushing a little. "Oh, you're right," she said. "Finding you, Thorn, does make all that's happened to me a little better. At least I'm not by myself out here anymore." Then she thought to herself, _Should I tell him how I'm starting to feel about him? I don't know what else will happen to us while we're out here. It may be too late to tell him how I feel when I have enough courage to tell him._

Cera tried to get up, but Thorn said, "You should rest now, Cera. Your ankle's been through a lot in the past few days since you hurt it." He paused. "I think you may have busted it up pretty bad when you fell into that cave."

"I think so, too," Cera said. "I was hoping it was only a sprain, but I know better now. If you want me to be honest, I'm surprised I've been able to do all I have on it, with the earthshake, and then Red Claw attacking us."

She lay against the back wall of the cave, which was overgrown with moss that actually made lying against the cave wall a bit comfortable. Cera stretched her hind legs out in front of her, especially her hurt one, to let them relax. Thorn gathered some moss from just outside the cave, then carried it back into the cave within his jaws. He told Cera to left her bad leg up so he could place the moss underneath it, to cushion it against the hard ground.

"That does feel better," Cera said. Her front legs were resting on her belly. "Thank you," she whispered, then closed her eyes.

"I believe it's getting dark out," said Thorn.

Without opening her eyes, Cera replied, "Maybe we should spend the night here. Sharpteeth will be prowling soon and we will be safe here in this cave, I think."

"We'll be safe here," Thorn tried to assure her. "The opening is far too small for fast biters or any larger sharpteeth to get in here. Smaller sharpteeth wouldn't dare to fight two threehorns, even with a group."

Cera yawned. "I'm gonna get some sleep," she said tiredly. She could hardly keep her eyes open. They kept drooping when she tried to open them. Cera laid her head back against the mossy cave wall, then was soon snoring lowly.

Thorn turned and went to the opening of the cave. He looked up at the sky. The night circle was full and the sky stars were all shining. The night circle cast a blue light across Thorn's earthy brown face. It was like his face was glowing. There was a single cloud in the sky, signaling weather would be good for the next few days. Or at least Thorn hoped it would be.

He knew for Cera's sake, they needed to keep moving if they were to find her mom and sisters' final resting place. With her shattered ankle still bothering her, they needed to keep moving as far to the east as they could each day before it got dark. The earthshake that nearly swallowed them both up, and the subsequent encounter with Red Claw, had slowed their journey down tremendously.

Thorn thought Cera was still asleep as he worried for her safety, but she'd awoke suddenly a minute or two later. Her mom and sisters were on her mind. She wondered what she would do if they did find where her mom and sisters died, and they weren't any fast biters in the canyon, still. Just thinking about her late relatives, whom she'd barely gotten to know before they were unfairly taken from her, made Cera cry. She felt the warm tears flowing down her face. They dripped from her horn like droplets of sky water dripped from tree stars.

Cera sniffed. She wished she could have actually gotten to know her mom and sisters. She'd only been a month old when the great earthshake separated Cera from her family. At the time, she never would have imagined when she found them again, only her dad had made it to The Great Valley. Even more than that, she never would have thought her dad had known what happened to them all these years, and never told her until now. Sure, he'd always thought he was doing what was best for her (even if most of the time in the past, his decisions had caused more grief), but what kind of dad withheld that kind of information from his daughter all these years?

Just thinking about her dad doing that filled her heart with as much anger as thinking about her mom and sisters filled her earth with sadness. More tears flowed down her face, but they tasted bitter, not salty, to Cera. _Tears of anger_ , she thought. _I don't think I'll ever forgive Dad for this. I don't care if he was waiting until I was older, it's still wrong if you ask me._

Then she changed her train of thought. Her tears become those of sadness again. _Oh, Mom, how I wish I could have gotten to know you and my sisters better before you died…it's all because of Pterano. He may not have meant to, but it's his actions that took you all from me when he led you into that fast biter attack. I won't ever forgive him for what he did either. I don't care if he saved Ducky's life. That barely makes up for what his foolish actions took from me!_

Cera was almost incensed from thinking about how Pterano, who was unfortunately the uncle of one of her closest friends, had caused her to lose most of her family. All she had left, save for Tria and Tricia, was her dad, and he hadn't ever been the best dad either. There were so many things he'd done in the past that she would never forgive him for, especially all those times he'd tried keeping her away from Littlefoot and her other friends just because they weren't threehorn. If her dad had been a bigot toward anything but threehorns, then Cera had become a bigot toward most threehorns. She'd rather be with longnecks or other non-threehorns, or even sharpteeth if they nice were like Chomper was, then a threehorn who acted like her dad had.

 _I have little love left in my heart for Dad,_ Cera thought bitterly. _He's changed, sure, but that doesn't excuse all he's done to make me sad or angry in the past. And knowing what happened to Mom and my sisters all this time…that did it. A part of me hopes I never see Dad again when I return to The Great Valley…_


	20. A Place of Bad Memories

**Chapter 19:**

 **A Place of Bad Memories**

Sari seemed confused all of a sudden. Littlefoot and his friends, noticing this, stopped in their tracks.

"What is it?" Littlefoot asked.

The tiny sharptooth turned around to face Littlefoot and his friends. "It's just…the fast water, it stops flowing here," she said, "and I don't see any other way through the cave. All the recent earthshakes must have changed things underground, too."

"Oh no," Ruby gasped.

"What we do now?" Petrie asked.

Sari cocked her head. "Hmm," she said. "There might be another way through these caves," she continued, "but it may be dangerous."

"D-Dangerous?" Petrie stammered. "How?"

"We'll have to go back to that other tunnel and go deeper underground," said Sari. "Then through the cave chamber that is filled with fire rock."

The group, minus Littlefoot and Sari, gasped.

Littlefoot seemed more resolute about taking that path than the others did. "I'll do anything to find Cera," said Littlefoot. The others were shocked and the way they glared at Littlefoot told him that. "Can you take us through it?"

"Littlefoot, what has gotten into you?" Ducky gasped. "Sari told you it is dangerous and you want to do anyway?"

"I'll make sure nothing happens to any of you," said Littlefoot. "I promise."

Ducky still seemed as though she wasn't convinced. She'd always trusted Littlefoot, but she wasn't too sure about this decision he'd made. Still, she and the others didn't have much choice at the same time. This way through the cave was blocked and that other tunnel, even if more dangerous, might just be their only other option if they want to find Cera.

"Alright," Ducky finally said. She tried to smile, to hide her concern and doubt. "I will come with you." The others nodded in agreement. Secretly, though, they were just as doubtful as Ducky was. Petrie was especially doubtful that they would be all right if they went that way, even if it was looking like the cave wasn't leaving them with a lot of options.

"Then it's settled," Sari said. "Follow me and be careful. I don't think I need to tell you how dangerous fire rock can be."

Upon Sari saying that, Ducky recalled the time she and Spike had been stuck on a single stone in the middle of a river of fire rock on their way to The Great Valley because of Cera's "easier way" to the valley. "Oh, yes, yes, yes," she said with fear in her voice. "Spike and I know too well how dangerous fire rock is. We would not be here if it were not for Littlefoot."

Sari blinked. She almost asked what the little swimmer meant by that, but thought against it at the last minute. It was probably best she didn't go into what sounded like a bad memory for Ducky and Spike that was best forgotten. The tiny sharptooth sprinted up the path and the others followed.

"This way," Sari said. "Watch your step."

Petrie wrapped his wings around Littlefoot's neck. The others walked closely, and cautiously, through this tunnel. Each of the dinosaurs felt the intense heat against their faces. Even Littlefoot was beginning to question how resolute he'd been about going this way. Being taller than the others were, Littlefoot saw the fire rock flowing underneath the rock path they were walking down. He prayed there wouldn't be an earthshake because this land bridge would give way and send them all plummeting to their deaths in the fire rock.

Ruby looked around. "I don't like this place," she whispered. "Can we hurry through it a little faster?"

Sari looked at the fast runner. "We can't," she said. "If we rush through this cave, there could be terrible consequences. Just look at how there's fire rock all around this cave. One literal slip up and you're in for a world of hurt. This land bridge is about all we've got between us and the fire rock. Littlefoot can tell you what he sees if you want."

"No thanks," Petrie said for Ruby. "Me no want to know what below land bridge. Me can feel heat from fire rock."

"Let's just hope we don't see it up close and personal," Ruby said. "We've been there and done that too many times," she added. Sari looked back at them again. She was surprised at all what all these kids had been through for being so young.

"I will warn you," Sari said without looking back at Littlefoot and his friends, "we will come to an opening in the land bridge. We'll have to jump over it to find a way out of here."

"Um," Ducky said. She was on Spike's back, shaking fearfully. "Is there not another way around it? I am not one for jumping. No, no, no." She shook her head to add emphasis.

"I'm afraid there's not," Sari said.

"You'll be alright, Ducky," Littlefoot assured her. Spike urged Ducky to ride on Littlefoot's back for a bit. She eventually gave in, and climbed over onto his back, then wrapped her arms around his neck tightly (but not enough to hamper his breathing, only just enough to hang on without having to worry about falling off).

"Let's just get through this," Sari said. "The longer we stick around, the more chance there is of something terrible happening. And right now, I have got one bad feeling in my stomach. We'd better get moving now."

The others said nothing more. They only followed the tiny sharptooth, every step they made being an extremely cautious one, as if they expected an earthshake to happen at any minute. Littlefoot, like Sari, also had a bad feeling in his stomach. He didn't know why, though. But just as Sari had said, he wanted to get them all out of this part of the cave as soon as possible. He didn't like the feeling it gave him.

"Is something wrong, Littlefoot?" Ruby asked. She could always tell when something was bothering someone, but asked regardless in case her instinct was wrong.

"I'd be lying if I said no," Littlefoot sighed. "I just don't like the feeling being in this section of the cave is giving me. I don't know why though."

"Kid," Sari said, "it's probably just the thought of not much being between us and the fire rock. I've got the same feeling. I don't think we need to worry too much, though. This rock bridge seems solid enough. I'm only worried about where it breaks off and we'll have to jump. We're getting close to it."

"Great," Petrie said. The flyer's beak was clicking constantly, his fear was so great already. Like the others, Petrie heard the fire rock bubbling down below, and it gave him an uneasy feeling worse than anything Littlefoot or Sari felt. He felt no safer flying up high than he did riding on the backs of any of his friends. The only thing that would calm this flyer down was being as far away from the fire rock as possible. He chirped nervously as the group neared the split in the rock bridge.

"There it is," the tiny sharptooth said. "Now, be careful when you jump. Hot steam can shoot up at any moment and I don't think I need to tell you how bad it will hurt."

"Oh, no, no, no," Ducky whimpered. She covered her eyes and nearly lost her balance. The swimmer immediately wrapped her arms backed around Littlefoot's neck. She screamed.

"Please don't do that," Sari cautioned. Ducky was confused. "This cave may be unstable. We must keep her voices low if we can. About anything could cause an earthshake. The rock bridge is stable and I'd like to keep it that way if we are on it."

Ruby stepped forward. Her knees were shaking as if someone was telling a scaring story, but she volunteered to go first. The fast runner kept telling herself not to look down and just get it over with, but when hot steam shot up from the split in the rock bridge, she nearly lost her balance, but instead wound up staring down into the pit of fire rock.

"Oh, dear," she whimpered. "Oh, dear!"

"Get up, quickly!" Sari gasped. The tiny sharptooth ran to pull the fast runner back, with Littlefoot's help, before any more hot steam shot up.

Ruby regained her composure then threw her body across the fire rock pit. She made it to the other side without a problem, but kept on running until she was near the cave's exit. Light from the night circle shown on Ruby's pink body, making it glow a dark hue of blue.

"Alright, Littlefoot," Sari said. "You're next, but be careful. You saw what almost happened to Ruby."

"Hang on, Ducky," Littlefoot whispered.

"I do not intend to let go," said Ducky. "No, no, no."

Littlefoot backed up a few inches. He began scraping the ground with his paw, like Cera would, and then he charged toward the gap. It was all Ducky could do not to scream when he jumped. Ducky was about to break when Littlefoot landed safely on the other side. She didn't realize it, though, until he was standing by Ruby's side in the night circle's light. Petrie joined them now, having not gathered enough courage to fly over to them until seeing Littlefoot jumping across the crevice.

Spike, however, was not as convinced, even after Littlefoot's accomplishment. When Sari said he had to jump now, the spiketail only grunted disagreeably, and backed away with a frown on his face.

"Come on, Spike!" the others tried encouraging him from the cave's exist. "You can do it, you can!"

"Uh-uh," Spike muttered. He wanted to smack his head in the ground and hide like the yellow bellies would, but he knew the ground was too hard for that.

"Huh?" Sari gasped. Then a look of terror unlike anything the young'uns had ever seen before came over the tiny sharptooth's face. "Spike, you have to go now, unless you want to be caught in the middle of an earthshake!" She turned toward the others. "Get out of the cave, now! We'll be right behind you."

"But—" Littlefoot began to protest.

"Listen to me, kid," the tiny sharptooth barked. "You don't want to be in _this_ cave in the middle of an earthshake. I'll make sure your friend gets out of here even if I don't."

"Alright, but please hurry," Littlefoot said, then scurried out the exit with his friends.

"Spike, listen to me," Sari said. "You must find enough courage in that big heart of yours to jump. Our lives are depending on it." She moved almost dangerously close to the edge. "Look, I'll jump first then follow." The tiny sharptooth threw herself into the air, then just as quickly found her feet planted safely on the ground at the other side.

Sari turned around to urge Spike on when it happened. A wall of hot steam burst up past her face. All Spike heard was the steam's hissing and then a terrible scream that made his blood run colder than ice water. As soon as the steam cleared away, Spike jumped across the gap against his better judgment. He and the others found Sari curled up in a ball, covering her eyes with her paws, and screaming like nothing they'd ever heard before.

"Oh no!" Littlefoot gasped. He was the first to see the reason for her being like this. Even with Sari's face obscured by her paws, the friends saw the severe burns on her face. The steam must have hit her directly! "Quickly, Ruby," he said, "pick her up. We have to go now!"

Ruby snatched up the screaming tiny sharptooth, then they all ran for their lives as the cave began shaking violently. Fire rock erupted from the ground and the rock bridge broke apart just as the friends made it out of the cave. A rockslide over the hill covered the exit with rocks just as Spike made it out.

Littlefoot regained his composure first and looked around just to make sure everyone had gotten out of the cave. He counted five dinosaurs, other than himself, and was thankful for that.

"My eyes!" someone screamed. It was Sari. Littlefoot and the others rushed over to where Ruby was setting the tiny sharptooth down on a dead patch of grass. It was now that the friends saw the real extent of Sari's injuries. Not only had her face been severely burned, she couldn't open her eyes, and when she did briefly, they had no life to them. "I can't see even when I open my eyes!"

Ruby nearly fainted on the spot. There wasn't a word to describe how bad the burns on Sari's face were. It may Littlefoot and his friends sick to their stomachs. Petrie and Ducky had to look away; they couldn't help it. Spike buried his face in the dirt.

"Ruby," Littlefoot gasped. "What do we do?"

"I-I don't think we can do anything," Ruby stammered. "I've never seen burns this bad before, not from steam…" She paused, trying to keep herself from fainting. "I would suggest putting a cast of mud over her face, but t-there isn't any."

Littlefoot seemed to get distracted from what was going on all of a sudden when he looked around for a mud pool. He saw none, but he saw so many things that were faintly familiar to him. First, the land seemed to have been broken apart for a long time, as if it'd suffered an earthshake years ago. There was a great split in the ground with a small slant of earth that could easily one could easily walk, or slide, down. He remembered Cera sliding down a ledge just like this when she'd told him to go away after the earthshake. She had been looking for a way to reach her family. Littlefoot began to suspect where they'd ended up, but it was not until he turned to his right that his suspicions were confirmed.

 _Blood!_ Littlefoot thought. _Dried blood!_

There was a splatter of dried blood all over the rock face he now staring at. And where there wasn't dried blood, Littlefoot could make out the shapes of where a young longneck and threehorn were standing. Then he saw the real telltale sign of where they were: in the distance, upon a plateau, was the skeleton of a long-dead longneck.

Littlefoot gasped. "Th-This is where Cera and I saw sharptooth hurt my mother…" he said. "My m-mother's skeleton is o-over there…"

"Littlefoot—" Ducky began.

But he was already gone, running toward the remains of his mother. It seemed as though nothing had bothered them for all these years, aside from scavengers he feared. There wasn't a bit of flesh left on her bones.

"Let him go," Sari groaned, trying to forget her pain long enough to say what she felt was necessary. "I can't see, but…I know what is going on. Let…your friend go. This is a place of bad memories…for Littlefoot, I can tell by what I heard…" She coughed. "Let…him be…for some time…"

The tiny sharptooth's voice faded away. Her head went limp.

"Sari!" Ducky screamed.

Ruby put a paw on Sari's neck. She felt a pulsating on the tiny sharptooth's next still. Ruby sighed with relief just for that. "There's still beating in her neck," Ruby let the others now. "I think the pain is just too much for her."

"I will go after Littlefoot," Ducky said. "I think he will want someone to talk to."

"We'll stay here to watch over Sari until you get back," Ruby said. "I just hope we can find something to help these burns while you talk to Littlefoot…"


	21. Ambushed

**Chapter 20:**

 **Ambushed**

Cera blinked her eyes open. After properly waking up and then yawning, the world appeared upside down to the threehorn. It took a minute for Cera to realize, for whatever reason, she was lying on the ground, flat on her back. She flipped herself over, groaned in pain because she inadvertently placed in foot on the ground harshly, and then noticed Thorn was still sound asleep at the back of the cave.

The last thing Cera remembered was being asleep up against the back of the cave with her ankle resting on a clod of moss, so how did she wind up sleeping flat on her back in the center of the cave? Guido's sleepwalking came to mind. Cera just hoped that if she had been sleepwalking, she didn't do it outside of the cave. Then again, they were both still alive, so she figured no one had seen her if she had. They probably had nothing to worry about.

"Oh, well," she yawned. Cera blinked, smacked her lips once, and then sat down on her haunches. An action that, like before, almost made Cera jump back up onto all fours, and cry out in pain. She kept forgetting how badly the bone in her foot was shattered. It clearly wasn't healing fast, either. Cera's little stunt of bravery against Red Claw, Screech, and Thud the other day didn't help it any.

 _Maybe I can squeeze in a few more minutes of sleep before Thorn wakes up,_ she thought sleepily. _A little extra sleep never hurt anyone._ Carefully, Cera rolled back over onto her back again. She'd realized how it was more comfortable to sleep on her back here since the ground was covered in a layer of tree fuzz (or rock fuzz, since they were in a cave). It also relieved the pressure she'd been feeling on her foot ever since she first injured it.

As soon as Cera began snoring lowly, Thorn woke up. After blinking his eyes to clear them, the first thing he saw was Cera's outstretched tail and hind legs. At first, he was confused about this. When the possible realization hit him like a rock, Thorn jumped up in alarm. "Cera!" He yelled.

Now it was Cera's turn to be wide-eyed with surprise. After getting back to sleep, she had been sleeping so well. "What are you yelling about?" she asked groggily. "I was sleeping so well…"

"You aren't hurt?" Thorn asked. There was a tiny bit of guilt in his voice now. It seemed as though he could have let Cera sleep on.

"Of course not," Cera growled. "What made you think I was hurt?"

"When I woke up, I saw you were on your back…" he whispered. "I didn't know what had happened."

"I only slept that way because it was easier on my back and foot," she replied, "with all the rock fuzz ground on the ground. It was better than sleeping against the wall of this cave if you ask me." She wouldn't mention that she still didn't know how she'd wound up in that position to begin with. Cera didn't want to worry Thorn with the possibility that she had been sleepwalking. The last thing anyone wanted to do was worry someone they were close to out here in The Mysterious Beyond.

This time, Cera was extra careful about sitting up on her rear. She didn't want to agitate her ankle anymore than she already had this morning. It had already been giving her a hellishly unbearable pain that still hadn't gone away since the day she shattered it. Cera wished day and night that her ankle would be miraculously healed, or at the least, the pain would go away. Walking on it probably wouldn't be so bad if it weren't hurting like it was.

Thorn came to Cera's side. "Should we get moving now?" he asked her.

Cera groaned, then lay down on her belly. She turned her head to look up at Thorn. "If you don't mind," she said, "I would like to rest my ankle for a little bit before we go anywhere. It's bothering me more than it ever has right now. Honestly, it's making me sick to my stomach…" Cera gagged. It was all she could do not to lose what little lunch she had eaten in the past few days. She covered her lips with her paws, and tried breathing through her nostrils, but it didn't do any good.

It was half an hour before Cera was able to bring herself to getting up from the ground. That half an hour was the worst time of Cera's life. But now, as she and Thorn headed east through the canyon like they had intended to yesterday before those fast biters showed up, Cera thought she was starting to feel better, aside from the pain. She was hungry now, though. After that terrible half an hour, her stomach was empty. Losing her lunch wouldn't be so bad if there was more food out here to be found than there was. But she and Thorn still seemed to be in the desert region of The Mysterious Beyond. Still, they hadn't even found a single oasis yet either. A part of Cera wondered if they were near the region she thought they were, where she and Littlefoot were born. She faintly remembered there being little food and even less water for dinosaurs there.

"I think I know this place," Cera said. "We've been seeing that great divide in the earth for days now." Thorn only looked at her. She knew what he was thinking. "I think we are close to where I was born. Oh, I hope we haven't gone too far from where I wanted to go. Unless the great earthshake split the ground apart much further away from my nest than I thought it did," she added.

"What do you feel in your heart?" Thorn asked.

Cera closed her eyes and thought deeply about it. "My heart says we may be going the right way," she said. "I hope we are anyway. There was a great split in the world just like this near my nest." She sniffed, then blinked away tears before Thorn noticed them. "The yellow bellies my friends and I lead to Berry Valley left us with this knowledge of theirs: 'Don't always think about things so much. Just feel it, when you are in doubt'. Sometimes I think that is a better way to go about living."

Thorn agreed with that. Sometimes thinking about something too hard didn't help a situation. "What way do you feel we should go, if this is not the right way?" he asked.

Cera frowned. She looked around since they were at the end of the canyon, where the two threehorns could now see in every direction for miles. She tapped one of her feet on the ground, then said, "This way. The way we've been going is the right way. That's what my heart is telling me." She paused. "I know you haven't met him, but my friend Littlefoot told me his mother left him with this advice, 'Some things you see with your eyes, others you see with your heart. Listen to your heart, because it speaks' before she died."

Everything Cera told Thorn about her friends and their losses made him realize he wasn't the only one to have suffered losses of family out here. It also made him wish he were in this "Great Valley" Cera kept mentioning, so he wouldn't have to worry constantly about something bad happening to Cera. With her busted ankle, she could only do so much to protect herself from dangers, or to get out of trouble. But with Cera feeling in her heart that they were so close to the destination she wanted to find, they couldn't afford to turn back now. Nothing could bring Cera's mom or sisters back, but although she had thought this too many times to count now, she at least wanted closure.

More than that even, Cera wished things could go back to how they were, when she could have fun without something splitting her up from her friends, and be on good terms with her dad again. She'd thought after he met Tria and they had Tricia, he'd never do anything to wrong her again. But keeping the secret he had kept from her, that he'd known all along what happened to the rest of their family, had put a rift between them that may never be fixed.

 _At least I'll always have Littlefoot,_ Cera thought, _and my other friends. And now Thorn, too. They'll always be there for me no matter what happens._

"Cera?" Thorn called. "You may want to see this. Hurry."

"Huh?" Cera said. She limped over to Thorn, who had stopped at the end of a cliff. She almost asked "What is it?" but she saw what Thorn had called her over to see. "Oh no," she gasped.

"It's those fast biters again," Thorn said. "The same ones we saw back in the canyon last night."

Cera couldn't place why these fast biters, with their gray skin and dark stripes, seemed so familiar to Cera. She hadn't ever seen this kind of fast biter before now. After a minute of thinking, it came to her. She knew why these fast biters seemed so familiar. These were the same kind of fast biters described by Littlefoot's grandfather when the adults told Cera and her friends the story of why Pterano had been infamous among the adults.

"Not again," Cera complained. "I don't think I can outrun any more fast biters…not with how my ankle is bothering me. There's no way I can. What do we do?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," Thorn said rapidly, but nervously. He looked beyond the fast biters, then in both directions to the side of them. He didn't see any way around them. Up here, they weren't any caves to sneak through until they found another way around the fast biters. "I don't see any way around them," he finally said, "I'm afraid. We may not have any ch…"

"I can't outrun them again," Cera pressed. "You know that as well as I do. My ankle is busted, there I said it. I'm useless for our survival!"

"Don't say that!" Thorn was aghast that Cera could talk about herself that way. "We'll think of something to get past those fast biters."

"What would be the point?" Cera barked. "They'll just find us again even if they do leave. Those same fast biters chased me on my first day out here. They'll remember me if they do catch us, and be even less likely to stop until they get me now that I'm hurt."

"What happened to listening to your heart?" Thorn asked. Cera noticed the annoyance in his tone. "Is your heart telling you to give up?" Cera was speechless. She just looked at her feet. "Well?"

"No, but…what can we do?" Cera asked. "Like you said, there's no way to avoid them."

"We'll just have to wait," Thorn said. "I'm sorry if I snapped at you."

"Don't be," Cera said. "I needed someone to talk to me that way. I wasn't thinking in my right mind because of all I've been through in the past few days."

Thorn looked back to the east. The threehorn saw a good sign. The fast biters were leaving, although in the way Cera believed they should go.

"They're leaving!" Thorn almost yelled. He suppressed the urge, though, not wanting the fast biters or any other sharpteeth to know they were here. "It won't be much longer before we can get out of their territory, from the looks of it, Cera." She didn't answer. "Cera?" Thorn turned around to see why she wasn't answering him and she wasn't there at all!

"Cera!" Thorn called out. "Where are you?" Still no answer, other than the blowing wind. "CERA!" he screamed, even though he knew better. He didn't care about sharpteeth right now. Thorn just wanted to find Cera _now_. He would accept the consequences of his yelling later, and do what he could to protect Cera, no matter what the cost may be.

"Psst," Thorn heard a low voice. He spun around. "Over here, Thorn. Be quick." He saw Cera sticking her head out of a hole in the canyon's walls. Thorn ran over to her.

"Don't ever worry me like that again!" he gasped.

"Sorry," Cera sniffed. "I just found this cave and thought it would be a way around the fast biters, but it's a dead end. Sorry if I worried you, I thought you'd seen where I went."

"Just promise me you won't wander off again," Thorn said. "I don't want anything to happen to you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Cera almost blushed in response to him saying that. She thought now would be a good time to tell Thorn what her heart had been saying for a few days. "Thorn, I…there's something I've been wanting to tell you," she said sheepishly.

Thorn cocked his head. "Yes?"

"I…"

Before Cera could say anything else, a snarl split the air. No, _two_ snarls! Cera and Thorn spun around, almost forgetting the other was there, to see two enraged fast biters coming from the canyon behind them.

"Oh, no!" Cera screamed.

"Go!" Thorn ordered her. He poked his horn into her shoulder.

"What?" Cera gasped. "Come with me!"

"Just go," Thorn pressed. "I'll be right behind you after I distract them! I promise."

"But, Thorn—"

"This isn't a time for arguing," Thorn said. "I told you I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I'm not about to break that promise now, so go. I'll be right behind you before you know it."

Cera reluctantly turned away from Thorn, tears flowing from her eyes.

"Please be careful," she sobbed. "I don't want to lose you either." Then she half-ran, half-hobbled away as Thorn ran down a different path, with both fast biters following him. Cera tried moving as quickly as her foot allowed her to, but she had to be careful so it didn't suffer any more damage. Cera heard the fast biters barking and wasn't sure if they were following her or Thorn. She couldn't see them, thankfully.

 _No!_ Cera thought. She heard a scream come from the other direction where Thorn had stayed. "Thorn!" she screamed. It was a scream of terror, not one of pain, but that didn't relax Cera any. Her brain ran wild with thoughts of what was happening to Thorn that made him scream like that. It was a scream that made Cera's blood run cold. But she heard no more screams, which told her Thorn had gotten away. The fast biters were still barking and growling, so they must still be chasing something.

Cera stopped near a dead, burnt-up tree. "Oh, Thorn," she cried. "Please be alright…" The threehorn watched her tears drip down her face onto the burnt soil. "Please…"

She could no longer hear Thorn goading the fast biters to chase after him. Only the barks and growls of the fast biters, who sounded enraged at this point. _They must not be able to catch him,_ Cera thought, _if they are snarling like they are._ But that did not reassure Cera any. Tears still flowed down her face despite that positive sign. Cera would not stop crying until she knew for sure Thorn was okay. That would be when he was with her physically again.

 _Where are you, Thorn?_ she thought. _You said you wouldn't take long to lead them away. Come on, please, Thorn…_

A scream split the air like a fast biter's killing claw split flesh. But it was not Thorn's voice, Cera realized after almost fearing the worst, and burying her face in the burnt soil. It was one of the fast biters screaming in agony. Although that gave her hope, Cera still wondered what could have made a fast biter scream like that…other than another sharptooth. Although it would not surprise her if he had, Cera didn't know how Thorn could have hurt a fast biter enough to make it scream like that when two were chasing him.

 _Unless he set a trap for those two_ , Cera thought, trying to remain positive. Oh, how she wished she could see what was going on. Cera was safe here, but she'd rather know what was happening right now. Was Thorn the cause of that fast biter screaming so terribly or was something else happening? The only other theory Cera had was Red Claw being in the area and recognizing Thorn, but going through the fast biters first to get to him. Cera knew Red Claw had to be angry— _That's a damn understatement_ , Cera thought—after what she'd done to him, Screech, and Thud. They'd probably remember seeing Thorn with Cera if they were responsible.

Then there was an intense _boom_ from somewhere in the canyon, followed by another terrible scream of a fast biter. It sounded as though the second fast biter had been caught in a rockslide and it did not end well for him (or her). Still, Cera had not heard anything that told her if Thorn was alright. Not another scream, or even his voice. Just nothing but the blood-chilling screams of the two fast biters she knew had to have chased after him.

* * *

"That is why you don't mess with a threehorn," Thorn said to the dying fast biters.

The first had fallen right into Thorn's trap, almost literally. It'd come running around the bend and fell off the ledge, right onto the pointed end of a dead, burnt tree. It'd be snapped off prior to this by a strong wind, and Thorn took advantage of it. The fast biter lay with the tree impaled into its belly, screaming as if it was calling for him.

The second fast biter had attempted jumping through the air onto Thorn when he'd ran away after the first fast biter was hurt, only to cause a rockslide when it landed on the cliff just right. A pile of rocks had broke free and rolled down into the canyon with the fast biter winding up buried underneath them. It had been crushed to death. All the blood made Thorn sick, though. He didn't like seeing any dinosaurs suffer, not even sharpteeth that could have killed him if they didn't die.

"I'm coming, Cera," he said to himself in a whisper. "Don't you…" He heard a growl from behind him. "…w-worry…" _Oh, no_ , Thorn thought. _Not another fast biter._

Thorn didn't know if he wanted to turn around. It was like he knew what was behind him, or would be. But eventually he convinced himself to turn around. When he did, the threehorn found himself snout-to-snout with a third fast biter. It showed its teeth at Thorn, who began to whimper. They were already stained with blood. He hoped it hadn't gotten to Cera. If he had to die, he couldn't die fearing he'd failed to protect Cera.

The threehorn turned to run, but as soon as his tail faced the fast biter, he felt a sharp pain in his hind leg. He ran in that moment, but Thorn still felt blood pouring from the wound in his leg. And, still, the fast biter was after him. It wasn't finished with him yet, Thorn feared. This third fast biter had to have been part of the pack the two dead ones belonged to, and it wanted to avenge their deaths.

* * *

Cera heard yet another scream.

But this time, it was not a fast biter. It was Thorn. Her heart began to beat a mile a minute and she ran, regardless of her shattered ankle, to the mouth of the canyon to watch for him. But she didn't see him. All she heard was him yelling for someone to "go away" or screaming like she'd never heard someone scream before.

"Thorn!" Cera cried.

Soon, the screams stopped. Now, all Cera heard were the satisfied snarls of a nearby fast biter.

"T-Thorn?" Cera wept. "No…this can't be. It just can't!" She collapsed and began to bawl her eyes out. She didn't care if some damn rock head found her. Cera only wished Thorn could be with her, but all she was hearing was the growls of the fast biter. Thorn wasn't screaming or yelling anymore. Soon, even the fast biter was silent.

"THORN!" Cera screamed. Then she lost it. "You stupid rock head. You'll pay for this if I ever see you again…I swear, you will. Any fast biter I see will wish they never crossed my path…" She snorted, then growled. Cera scraped her paws into the dirt, ran about like a mad dinosaur, crying all the while. Cera's tears left spots about the ground as if it was the aftermath of a sky water shower.

"No! This is just a bad sleep story. It has to be…it just has to be a bad sleep story," Cera bawled. "None of this is real…" She threw her body on the ground. "It can't be real…Thorn, you have to be alive. Please…"

The thing Cera regretted the most was she'd never be able to tell Thorn how she really felt about him. She had been so close to telling Thorn that she loved him, and now he may be gone from her life forever.

"Damn you…" Cera growled. "I'll make the fast biter that did this to you, Thorn, pay if it is the last thing I ever do."

Leaving a trail of tears wherever she walked, Cera scraped the dirt with one of her front paws again, then headed off in the direction her heart told her to go. Her broken heart…it was like the fast biter had ripped a part of her heart out when it took Thorn from her.


	22. Hope

**Chapter 21:**

 **Hope**

Mr. Threehorn looked out at The Great Circle as it began its descent toward the horizon. Tria was the only other dinosaur by his side. The longnecks, flyers, Chomper, and Ducky's mother had already fallen asleep. They all expected another long day of searching The Mysterious Beyond tomorrow and had agreed the group should get to sleep early, so they'd be ready for anything tomorrow might bring.

The threehorn sighed. "Tria," he said.

"Yes?" She was almost afraid to ask that.

"My heart tells me we'll never see Cera again," he replied. "We should have found her by now. I'm afraid she's…" He almost couldn't bring himself to think such a thing. "…she's no longer with us. What else could explain why we haven't seen a sign of Cera, other than the old scent trails and footmarks Chomper found?"

"Topsy!" Tria was aghast that he could talk like that about his only biological daughter. Sure, the situation was looking grim, but that was _no_ excuse for not staying optimistic. And Tria let him know it, too. "You're a father, Topsy. Act like it. You can't just lose hope because your daughter has been missing for days. A real father wouldn't ever lose hope until he knows for sure if his daughter is alright or not."

"It's just…" Mr. Threehorn began.

"I don't want to hear it, Topsy," Tria said. "You can talk to me when you have some hope." She turned away, then walked over to the others to sleep. Tria didn't feel like sleeping by Mr. Threehorn's side tonight, for some reason she didn't understand. All she knew was, she was upset with him, and didn't feel like talking if he wasn't going to stay positive like the others.

Grandpa Longneck stirred. Although the others hadn't, he heard Tria coming over to them. "Is something the matter?" the longneck asked.

"Oh," Tria groaned. "It's just Topsy. He doesn't believe we'll ever find Cera. I told him I don't want to talk to him if he isn't going to be hopeful that we will. I know we'll find her. Cera is a smart girl. Even out here, she can take care of herself. She's not some kid anymore, although Topsy seems to think so."

"Mr. Threehorn's just upset," Grandpa Longneck said. "Give him some time to clear his thoughts. I believe he does think we'll find Cera, he's just confused and upset by everything that is going on. Other than you and Tricia, Mr. Threehorn has no family. As far as anyone knows, Cera is his only direct relative in the valley. I don't think we should be harsh with Mr. Threehorn right now. He'll come to his senses in time."

"Yeah, but—" Tria began.

"Try to get some rest," Grandpa Longneck cut her off. "We've had a long few days."

"I guess," she sighed. "I just hope Topsy finds some hope eventually. I don't know how much longer I can put up with him and his doubt that Cera can survive out here."

The threehorn found a comfortable spot not far away from Grandpa and Grandma Longneck, where she used some of the dead grass as a makeshift nest. Although Grandpa Longneck was quickly snoring again, sleep would not come so easily for Tria. Despite being optimistic that Cera was alive, there was a tiny bit of worry in her heart that something had happened to her stepdaughter.

* * *

Elsewhere, there were other dinosaurs who felt the same despair that Mr. Threehorn did, except they did not doubt that Cera's chances of survival.

Including Littlefoot—despite his shock over what part of The Mysterious Beyond they had found—these dinosaurs had surrounded the critically wounded tiny sharptooth. Sari couldn't stop groaning in agony. That hot steam had done a number on her face, particularly her eyes. Although if it hadn't been for Spike, Sari may not be alive period. Despite Spike's bravery, Littlefoot and his friends all thought maybe it would be better if Sari hadn't survived. She was suffering right now and the friends didn't know what to do.

"Oh," Petrie sobbed. "It hopeless. We can't do anything to help Sari."

"I hate to say this," Littlefoot said, "but Petrie is right. Where we are now, there isn't anything we can do to help Sari."

"Can we not move Sari to somewhere where we may be able to help her?" Ducky asked.

"I don't think so," Ruby said. "Her burns are pretty bad. Moving her might be even worse than doing nothing, and not being able to doing anything is already bad."

"There might be something we can do," said Littlefoot, "but the rest of you may not like it."

"What?" they said in unison.

"Well," Littlefoot sighed. "If I remember this part of The Mysterious Beyond correct, there is an abandoned swamp not too far away from here, underneath one of these dead thorny trees. The one where Sharptooth first attacked Cera and I. If we are lucky, it hasn't dried out after all these years."

"Oh, I hope," Ruby said. "I can't bear to watch poor Sari suffer like this. I almost feel bad just standing around and doing nothing but watching…"

"We'll never know if we can help her if we don't go to the swamp," Littlefoot said. He was the first to run toward it. Ducky, Petrie, Ruby, and Spike followed him quickly. Sari remained on Spike's back, groaning agonizingly.

Upon reaching the swamp, the friends heard something that gave them hope. It was a low splash. That meant water, or more hopefully, mud!

Before the others even, Littlefoot let himself slide down the slope toward the swamp. He yelled as he slide, then everyone heard a loud *splash* after Littlefoot disappeared from everyone's view.

"Littlefoot!" Ducky gasped.

One-by-one, his friends slide down the slope (except for Spike, he didn't want to endanger Sari), and also one-by-one, they found themselves splashing into the muddy swamp water.

"Yuck!" Ruby said. She sat straight up in the mud, disgusted with the feeling of it all around her, and dripping down her body. The others shared Ruby's sentiments.

"Me no like this," Petrie complained.

"Me neither," said Ducky. "Oh, no, no, no."

Littlefoot almost said, "This isn't a time to complain. We have to take care of Sari _now_." But he stopped himself, knowing how rude that would be. He didn't want to upset his friends, especially not right now. "Quick, Spike, bring Sari," he said instead. "And be careful, that slope is slippery. We don't want Sari getting hurt anymore."

Spike grunted, then walked down the slope, but not where his other friends had slipped down it. He searched around for a drier way down so Sari wouldn't get hurt by him slipping down into the swamp. The spiketail searched his way through the swamp for his friends. Usually he would have smiled upon finding them, but Spike didn't this time. He knew how serious things were right now.

"Ruby, lay her down on these tree stars," Littlefoot instructed. "Carefully."

"Alright," Ruby whispered. As carefully as any dinosaur could hope to, the fast runner picked Sari up, then laid her down where Littlefoot had pointed with his snout.

"Ducky," Littlefoot continued. "Think you could swim in that to gather some mud?"

"Huh?" Ducky gasped. She thought about it. "I would not normally," she said, "but I will do it for Sari. I will." Then she dived head first, with her arms stuck straight out, and her hands pressed together. There was another splash. Ducky dived down to the bottom of the swamp, ignoring a fish and a turtle along the way. She found fresh mud at the bottom and wondered how she could get it up to the surface.

 _Hmmm_ , Ducky thought. Then she decided to do it the simple, although disgusting in her mind, way. Ducky reached into the mud with her hands and took up as much as she could carry, then swamp back up to the surface. She didn't want to stick around under this water any longer. Not only was it harder to breathe underneath, even for a swimmer like Ducky, she'd begun to feel as though she wasn't alone under there (other than the harmless creatures like fish and turtles).

There was a splash as Ducky emerged from the swamp, dripping with muddy water. She still had a good handful of mud, which she sat down by Sari. Ducky would let Ruby take over here, while she began shaking herself dry, and thought about how she would definitely need a bath after _that_ swim. She felt disgusting.

Ruby took up the mud, caked it together, and then gently placed it over Sari's burns. The fast runner sighed. "That's all we can do," she said, "until we get back to The Great Valley. It may not heal Sari's burns any, but it will ease the pain tremendously."

"Where we go now?" Petrie asked.

"Nowhere," said Littlefoot. The others stared at him with stunned looks. "Not now anyway. Sari needs to rest. She hasn't since we barely escaped the cave."

* * *

Tria awoke suddenly, long after the night circle had risen into the sky. She couldn't figure out why she had an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach all of a sudden.

Not until she looked up toward where she remembered Topsy being. He was still there, staring out at the horizon just as he had been hours ago. Tria was stunned. _Has he not gotten one bit of sleep yet?_ she wondered.

Tria trotted over to her husband. "Topsy?" she said, leading to him spinning around in surprise. He hadn't heard Tria walk up behind him.

"Oh, Tria," he said. "You startled me."

"Why haven't you gotten any sleep yet?" she asked him, with concern in her voice.

"Oh," Mr. Threehorn answered. "I haven't been able to get to sleep. All I've done is worry about Cera since you went off me, which you had every right too. I shouldn't have said the things I did. The truth is, somewhere in my heart, I do believe Cera is still alive. It was my worry for her that made me say the things I did," he admitted. "And I'm sorry."

Now, Tria _was_ stunned. In all the years they'd known each other, both in the past and now, she'd never heard him say "I'm sorry" to anyone. Okay, she'd never heard him _apologize_ in general before. At this point, Tria couldn't help but forgive Topsy, and let him know that she did.

"Now, Topsy," she whispered. "Come get some sleep. You'll need too if you want to help look for Cera tomorrow."

Mr. Threehorn nodded. She was right. He couldn't afford to stay up all night thinking. He wouldn't be any help to Cera, and the others, if he didn't get any sleep. With this renewed hope that Cera could still be alive somewhere out here, he followed Tria back to where the others were sleeping. Mr. Threehorn waited until Tria had gotten comfortable on her makeshift nest before he lay down by her side.

Before drifting off into sleep, Mr. Threehorn had one thought to himself: _Please be alright, Cera. I don't know what I would do if I lose you, too._


	23. Swirling Winds

**Chapter 22:**

 **Swirling Winds**

A gust of wind nearly blew Petrie into one of the many burnt trees in this region.

"Me no like this!" Petrie squawked in alarm.

"I do not like this neither," Ducky said. "Can we find a place to wait the wind out?"

"I don't think there is one," Littlefoot said. "Besides, we have to keep moving. You saw those sharpteeth back there. Windy day or not, we can't afford to stop right now. Those sharpteeth may be following us."

"Littlefoot does have a point," Ruby interjected. "Oof!" she grunted. The wind threw a burnt tree branch straight into Ruby's face. The impact almost knocked her to the ground.

"Ruby!" Ducky gasped.

Spike pressed on, carrying Ducky and Petrie on his back, while Littlefoot went back to help Ruby up.

"Oh," the fast runner groaned. "My head…" She rubbed the top of her head, where the feathers grew on it, with her right hand. Littlefoot used his tail to life Ruby up, then waited a minute to see if she could run. "I think I'll be alright," she said. "Except the headache I'll have later." Ruby shook her head. "Let's go."

"Duck!" Petrie screeched.

Littlefoot and Ruby hit the ground immediately. And not a minute too soon. A part of a tree blew right over them. It would have, figuratively speaking, take Littlefoot and Ruby's heads off if they hadn't ducked. They did not get up until they heard a crash, then the log splintering as it collided with a boulder behind them.

"Sharpteeth no be out in this!" Petrie said. "Me hope…"

"He's right," Littlefoot said. "We'll have to keep going while the wind's blowing. No sharptooth will be able to move fast in this, not with all the debris being thrown around." He looked to see a rock coming right for his head.

"Littlefoot!" Ruby gasped. She tackled him to the ground, sending the two somersaulting right into Spike, who budged, but wasn't knocked over. It took a minute for Ruby to realize she was on her back, lying sideways across Littlefoot's belly.

"Ow," Ruby and Littlefoot said together.

Ruby rolled over so Littlefoot could get up (and breathe properly!), then immediately found herself sprawled out on the ground again. Another rock sent flying through the air by the wind scored a direct hit on the side of her head. She screamed as she fell backward.

"Ruby!" Littlefoot yelled over the wind. It was getting louder and stronger with each passing minute. "Ahh!" he screamed. Another tree branch flew through the air over him. He ducked at the last minute. "Spike, help me get Ruby up," he said. "We can't stay out here any longer. It's getting too dangerous!"

Spike grunted in response. Ruby had stood up without any help, but she couldn't walk without support. That rock had knocked her silly. Littlefoot and Spike got on either side of her. Ruby put her arms over their backs, then ran with them. Ducky and Petrie were hanging onto Littlefoot's neck for dear life. If they let go, they'd surely be blown away, and probably never be found again.

"Go back to the cave!" Littlefoot yelled. "We should be safe there!"

Petrie cranked his head around to see what was going on behind them. "Swirling wind!" he screeched. "Hurry, hurry!" Petrie started screaming as his friends took off running. As best Littlefoot and Spike could anyway, considering they were supporting a half-unconscious Ruby.

The swirling wind took up all sorts of debris in it as he seemed to purposely follow the dinosaurs. Rocks, trees, dirt, about everything. Sometimes it would throw a rock or tree branch at them, but the debris usually missed.

"Oh," Ruby groaned. She barely knew what was going on. That rock had hit her head harder than any of them thought it had at first. She could barely hold her head up or carry her own weight right now.

"We can't keep doing this!" Littlefoot gasped. The swirling wind was getting dangerously close. They could feel it pulling them backwards toward it. Littlefoot stopped only long enough to push Ruby onto Spike's back to carry her, albeit sideways. "Now, run!"

Screaming, Littlefoot and Spike dashed toward a crevice in the side of the rock not far from where the remains of Littlefoot's mother were. The swirling wind was not having any mercy on her remains either. All sorts of debris had abused it and broken pieces of it off, which were now being thrown around. Littlefoot and Spike dodged _bones_ being thrown at them.

"Oh, no, no, no," Ducky gasped. "The swirling wind cannot even leave your mother alone."

Littlefoot had seen it happen. It wanted to make him cry, but he knew there wasn't any time right now unless he wanted to feel one of his mother's bones stabbing into his neck. The swirling wind was throwing them around violent.

"Watch out!" Littlefoot screamed. He and Spike hit the ground. A rib bone from Littlefoot's mother shot over them, sharp end first.

"That would not have been pretty!" Ducky whimpered. "No, no, no!" she screamed. The wind blew her right off Littlefoot's back, but he caught her by the tail in his jaws.

"Hang on, Ducky," he said through clenched teeth. Against the wind, Littlefoot cranked his neck around to set Ducky on his back again. She wrapped her arms around his neck tighter than before. Petrie did the same, even though it meant being squished between Ducky's belly and Littlefoot's neck.

 _Me rather be squished than blown around and lost forever,_ Petrie thought.

"How much further to the cave, Littlefoot?" Ducky asked.

"It shouldn't be much further," he answered, then ducked his head before he could say anymore. The wind threw another branch at him. "If we can make it! It's like the wind is trying to kill us."

Ducky screamed. Another rib bone shot right past Littlefoot's head. If it'd come any closer, it would have put an end to the longneck instantly.

"Oh," Petrie sobbed. "That too close!"

"No kidding!" Littlefoot said loudly, over the wind. The others still barely understood him.

"What that?" Petrie said with alarm.

"Everyone down!" Littlefoot screamed.

His friends hit the dirt. Next thing they knew, bones were flying over them. Tail, ribs, spine, skull…anything they could think of, the wind was throwing over them. At this point, Littlefoot couldn't take it anymore. Tears started flowing down his face. He knew nature didn't think, but seeing the swirling wind breaking his mother's skeleton apart was still too much for the young longneck. As if seeing her die when he'd been so young wasn't bad enough, now he had to watch her remains being destroyed.

"I am so sorry, Littlefoot," said Ducky. "I am."

"Let's go, while we have the chance." He was still sobbing as they got back up and ran. The small crevice they spent the previous night in was within eyesight now.

"Littlefoot, watch out!" Ducky yelled.

But it was too late for him to react. First, he felt a stabbing pain in just above his tail on the right side, then blood flowing. He looked back to see something sharp stuck into his right leg. It was a rib bone! Littlefoot bit his tongue, trying not to scream out. No injury was going to stop him from getting his friends, especially the wounded Ruby and Sari, to safety. He'd worry about himself later.

"You hurt!" Petrie gasped.

"Don't worry about it," Littlefoot said, clenching his teeth. "Let's get you all to safety first."

"B-B-B-But—"

"This is no time for arguing!" Littlefoot yelled, only so they could hear him. The winds were getting louder and more violent with each passing minute. An uprooted dead tree almost took the entire group out without warning. "See what I mean?"

As he and Spike ran, Littlefoot tried his best to ignore the stabbing pain in his leg. He gritted his teeth, but Littlefoot could still feel the rib bone tearing his leg muscles. The longneck also couldn't stop crying. His mother's remains had been blown all over the area by the swirling winds, which were still throwing debris. It was all Ducky and Petrie could do to hang onto Littlefoot's neck, and not get sucked away.

"Hang on," Littlefoot said to Ducky and Petrie. "We're almost there…"

Although half-unconscious, Ruby was able to wrap her arms around Sari and hang onto her strongly. The tiny sharptooth still couldn't see, but Sari had heard enough to get an idea of what was going on. The swirling winds made her ears ring.

"Go, Spike!" Littlefoot shouted. "I'll be right behind you!"

Spike waddled through the crevice and, after giving one last sad look at what little of his mother's remains hadn't been blown away, he followed him.

"At least that is over," Ducky said. She and Petrie dropped from Littlefoot's back so he could help Spike carefully get Ruby onto the ground. Ruby let Sari go upon feeling her back against hard ground.

"Me no want to do that again," Petrie whispered.

Littlefoot sniffed. The others, minus Sari, noticed tears flowing down his face. They didn't stop him from going to the back of the crevice to sob. Who could blame him? Littlefoot had already dealt with the unthinkable, watching his mother die, and now he would have to deal with the memory of swirling winds destroying her remains for the rest of his life.

Ruby weakly looked at Ducky and Petrie standing over her. "Oh, my head," she groaned. "That rock must have struck it harder than we thought…"

"Get some rest, Ruby," Ducky whispered. "It looks like we will not be going anywhere soon. No, no…no." She heard Littlefoot sobbing and everyone looked at him. "Poor Littlefoot," she said. "I cannot imagine what he is feeling right now."

"We should let him be for a bit," Ruby said. "I feel he doesn't want to talk right now."

Littlefoot sat down on his haunches. He didn't even look back to see if his friends were all right. They were talking, he figured, so they had to be. At this point, Littlefoot didn't even care about his injury. The rib bone had fallen out when they ran for this crevice, and he was bleeding now, but Littlefoot just didn't care.

But Ruby and the others did. They could see his wound pouring blood from the other end of this small space. Despite her pounding headache, Ruby got up, and went over to Littlefoot's side.

"Littlefoot," the fast runner said, "we should do something about that wound on your leg. It's bleeding badly. It will attract sharpteeth after the storm if we don't do something about it."

Littlefoot sighed, then turned to face her. Ruby wiped his tears away with her hand, then gently touched her beak against his cheek. "You're right," he said. "I wasn't considering that my injury could put us all in danger. I'm sorry," he added.

"Do not be sorry, Littlefoot," he heard Ducky say. "You are going through a tough time right now."

"Yeah, but I would feel terrible if you all got eaten by a sharptooth because of me," he said. "I don't want anything to happen to my friends." Littlefoot changed the subject. "But what can be done about it?" he asked. "We can't go outside again. It's too dangerous to forage right now."

Ruby looked around, then seemed to get excited about something she saw. "We've got everything I need right here," she said. "Everything I need is right over there." He pointed to the opposite corner of the crevice, where there seemed to be a path that lead somewhere. There were green plants growing from a crack in the ground.

"What that?" Petrie asked.

"Just what I need to stop the bleeding," Ruby said. Slowly, she stood up, and went over there. The fast runner snatched up a handful of the plant, which only she seemed to recognize. She set the leaves down by Littlefoot's side and began to crush the pile up by walking all over them. It wasn't long before the leaves had been reduced to a paste, which Ruby began to gently apply over Littlefoot's wound.

"How did you know this?" Ducky asked.

"My mom showed me this plant when I was young," Ruby explained. "She said if I am ever hurt, to look for this plant. It usually grows near water."

"Water!" everyone exclaimed.

"Yep," Ruby said. "Where you can find there is plant, there must be a water source nearby." She began tapping her foot rapidly. Ruby had a habit of doing this whenever she thought. "I think we should look for it while we are waiting for the storm to die down. Are you feeling up to it, Littlefoot?"

"I can walk," he said. Littlefoot stood up, but groaned as he did. "My leg will be sore, but you've done all you can Ruby. We should at least find water, it has been a few days since we've had a proper drink."

"I agree," Ducky said. "I do." She smacked her lips just to emphasis how dry her mouth was. They hardly made a sound when she smacked them.

Spike grunted in agreement and nodded.

"Me think we should," Petrie said. "Me fly on ahead and see if me can find water." Petrie did not wait for the others to agree. He just went on ahead through the opening.

Ruby looked at Sari. She felt sorry for the tiny sharptooth when she saw her burned face. "Do you want me to carry you?" she asked the tiny sharptooth.

"If you want," Sari said. "I can still smell my way around, blinded or not."

So Ruby took up Sari with her hands. She held her like her mom used to hold her when she was younger. Although Sari wanted to protest being held that way, she was too tired to argue after the ordeal she went through so she let Ruby do what she wanted. _Besides,_ Sari thought, _I do not feel like walking. My legs probably wouldn't carry me right now._

"I smell water," Ducky said, "but I do not see it."

"I don't see Petrie either," Littlefoot said. "I hope he's not in danger."

"Me no in danger." Petrie appeared from nowhere, startling everyone. "But me find water! This way." Then he was gone again. Everyone ran after him in a hurry. They couldn't remember the last time any of them had a nice, cold drink. The sound of fast water flowing hit the dinosaurs' ears before they even saw it.

"Water!" Ducky exclaimed. She hopped off Littlefoot's back and ran for the fast water. Before the others joined her, the swimmer had already bent her head down to slurp the water up. Her friends followed suit, even Sari. She couldn't see, but that didn't stop the tiny sharptooth from drinking her fill of water. She could hear well enough to keep from falling into the fast water.

Something distracted Ruby from slurping the water. She thought she heard wind blowing, even though they had to be deep in the cave. The others were too caught up in drinking water to notice Ruby slipping away deeper into the cave. Her head was pounding still so she wouldn't be gone for longer, but Ruby wanted to know why she was hearing wind this far into a cave.

Ruby quickly got an answer. The cave was smaller than she'd expected it to be. Before her was another way out. The wind blew sky water and small debris into the cave, but Ruby wasn't too worried. She stuck her head out to see where this exit led. It was just a field of tall grass. She wondered how long he field would be there, though, with the way the wind was blowing.

"Ruby?" she heard Littlefoot call. "Where'd you go?"

"I'm over here!" Ruby called back. "I found another way out of the cave."

The others appeared in an instant. Sari was riding on Littlefoot's back. They came up on either side of Ruby.

"T-Tall grass," Petrie stammered. "Do we have to go that way?"

"I think so," Littlefoot said. "It may get us to Cera faster. You saw the way back there, Petrie. It was a dead end, with the great divide. This may be our only choice."

"N-N-N-No…" Petrie stammered. If he had teeth, they would be chattering right now. "W-We can't do that."

"Why?" Sari asked.

"Me the only one that now?" Petrie gasped. "How? Fast biters like to sleep in tall grass!" he screeched. "Me remember seeing fast biters hunting dinosaurs through tall grass before me met friends. Me never forget the things me saw from the tree I hid in…"

Littlefoot's heart sank. "I-I didn't know that," he stammered. "But I'm afraid we may not have a choice but to go this way after the weather clears up. We haven't found another way out of here but going back and retracting are steps."

"B-But it dangerous!" Petrie protested.

"I am with Petrie on this one," Ducky said. "We cannot risk going through tall grass where f-fast biters may live…No, no, no. We just cannot, Littlefoot."

"They're right, Littlefoot," Ruby interrupted. "We'll be risking traveling through where fast biters hunt best if we go that way…"

"I know," Littlefoot sighed. "But I don't know what else we can do." He paused. "If anything…"

"If?!" everyone gasped.

"Okay, if or when something happens," Littlefoot continued, "we will run back to this cave, and find our way through it to re-think things after we get to safety. I won't let anything happen to any of you if we do risk the tall grass."

"Oh," Ducky whimpered. "I just hope Cera is doing better than we are, wherever she is."

* * *

That was a false hope Ducky had. Cera wasn't much better than they were. Not only was Thorn possibly dead, but Cera didn't even know how she would find her destination now.

On top of her busted ankle bugging her again, she was lost after being separated from Thorn. Worse yet, the wind had been blowing all day. Cera figured there were swirling winds somewhere.

"I hate this place," Cera growled. "I hate everything about it! Even these blowing winds. I wish everything in The Mysterious Beyond would just disappear, like it never existed! Fast biters took my mom and sisters from me, and now they've taken the only dinosaur I've ever loved more than a friend away!"

Cera stomped around, snorted, and growled. What would be taken from her next? Littlefoot? Ducky? She didn't even want to consider all the possibilities of who could die next. Cera was incensed enough as it was. If anything else bad happened, she would explode like the burning mountains.

Tears flowed down the threehorn's face. "Oh, Thorn," she sobbed. "You should have just c-come with me…" She threw herself to the ground, albeit to dodge an incoming tree branch. "What will I do without you?"

Cera gave up with hiding her tears. She let the damn things drip from her eyes. "I guess I-I'll always have Littlefoot," she whimpered. "But Thorn…" A small stone struck Cera right in the horn on her nose, chipping in. She saw the fragment fall to the ground, then get blown away by the wind. It was gone before she had a chance to react, not that it mattered any, of course. She still had most of her horn. It wasn't a big deal that she lost a small fragment of it. Cera would probably lose more as she grew up, especially if she had to fight sharpteeth.

"Humph!" she snorted. "Even the weather is against me!" _Maybe I should get going,_ Cera thought. _I'll find what I'm looking for if I keep going…I guess. It's just…nothing will be the same without Thorn…_


	24. The Tall Grass

**Chapter 23:**

 **The Tall Grass**

Petrie whimpered. "Me have a bad feeling about this…"

"We all do, Petrie," said Ducky. "We do…"

None of them wanted to speak above whispers. If Petrie was right, then fast biters could be anywhere in this field, waiting for an easy meal. As far as sharpteeth were concerned, the friends knew, nothing made an easier meal than a group of young dinosaurs without any grown-ups (other than Sari, but she couldn't protect them, blind or otherwise) to protect them.

"What that?!" Petrie gasped. He covered his beak with his wings, realizing his mistake.

"What?" Littlefoot asked.

"I did not hear anything either," Ducky said.

"Sorry," Petrie said. "Me must just be paranoid. Me thought he heard something that way." He pointed to the right with a wing. "T-The way we're traveling…"

"It was probably nothing," Littlefoot said. He tried keeping high hopes among them. "I think we would have seen fast biters by now, if there were any out there in the grass." The rest of what Littlefoot said was in a more nervous tone. "But…just to be safe, what did it sound like?"

"A screech," Petrie said. "Like the sound me make when me get scared."

"I do not think that was a fast biter, then," Ducky said. "They do not sound like fliers." She paused, then gulped. "D-Do they?"

"I don't think so," Ruby said. "Not any of them I've seen anyhow. And that's a lot of fast biters," she added. "But I'd rather not talk about fast biters. They bring back too many bad memories…like being separated from my family."

"Let's go before it gets dark," Littlefoot said. "We don't have long and fast biters seem to prefer hunting after dark."

"Why?" Ducky asked.

"They can well see in the dark," Ruby cut in. "We can't. At least, not as good as fast biters can." Just saying "fast biter" made Ruby shudder. "But let's do hurry. I don't want to see any fast b-biters…"

"Petrie, Ducky, get on Spike and I's backs," Littlefoot said. "Ruby, carry Sari. If anything does happen, we'll need to move faster than we've ever moved."

Petrie squawked. "Me can fly if anything happen," he said, a bit upset. Ducky wasn't bothered though. She knew she couldn't run as fast as Littlefoot, Ruby, and Spike could.

"Littlefoot," Ducky said.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"What do we do if there are fast biters deeper in the field?"

"Well, run of course," he began. "But other than running, about all we can do is stick together and get out of the field as fast as possible. If we get out in the wide open, they shouldn't follow us. The last time he came to The Great Valley, my dad said fast biters that live in the tall grass don't like to leave it unless they have a good reason."

"That is comforting," Ducky said. "It is. A little…"

"It not make me feel any better," Petrie said.

"Just stay calm," Sari said. Ruby had her hands gently around the tiny sharptooth's torso. "If we are quiet, fast biters may not even know we were here to begin with."

"Well," Petrie whimpered. "If you say so…but me not convinced until we are safe at the other end, and far away from any sharptooth."

"But that would mean going back to The Great Valley," Ruby said.

"Exactly," Petrie said. "Me not like it here. Mysterious Beyond bad place."

"Petrie," Littlefoot said sternly. "We can't leave without Cera or go back now. We've come too far just to chicken out and turn around now. Cera may be counting on us if the grown-ups having found her yet."

"Chicken out?" Petrie gasped. "M-Me only chicken out when smoking mountains involved…and sharptooth…and creepy crawlers…"

"Keep your voice low now," Ruby said. "We're about to head into the tall grass."

"If anyone thinks they hear a fast biter," said Littlefoot, "warn the dinosaur closest to you and pass the warning on."

"B-B-But how we know if we hear fast biter or not?" Petrie stammered.

"When they are stalking prey through fields," Ruby said, "they make a low growl or a clicking sound with their tongue. You'll know it when you hear it. And it's a sound we won't forget if we hear it. I still have bad sleep stories about the sound they make."

"Me think we living a bad sleep story," Petrie remarked.

"It could be worse," Littlefoot whispered.

"How?" Petrie whispered back.

"You could be blind for the rest of your life like me," Sari whispered. "If you ask me, nothing is worse than spending the rest of your life blind. Except maybe for dying…but for a blind dinosaur, death may be welcome in a place like this. It wouldn't mean feel like something is waiting to kill you every minute, even with somewhere there to keep you safe. I feel that way now more than ever."

"Oh, that makes me feel _so_ much better," Ducky whispered sarcastically. She rolled her eyes, then hugged Littlefoot's neck. Littlefoot coughed. "Sorry," she said and relaxed her arms' grip a bit.

"Petrie, could you do us a favor?" Littlefoot asked.

"M-Maybe," the flyer stammered. "What favor?"

"Fly up and see how far this field goes."

"N-N-No. Me no do that. It let fast biters know where we are if they see me fly back down here."

Littlefoot gasped. He hadn't thought of that. "He's right," Littlefoot sighed. "I guess we'll have to just walk blindly…er, sorry. Sari."

"I know what you mean," Sari said. "Don't be sorry."

"…until we find the end of the tall grass," Littlefoot continued. "I think we should get out of here before the bright circle is gone."

"Oh," Petrie whimpered. "Me hope so. Me hate being out after dark bad enough. Being in tall grass and worried about fast biters just make me feel so much worse."

"I do not think we will see any," Ducky said. They were all talking only loud enough for anyone right next to them hear the words, to lessen the chances of being detected if there are any fast biters. "We are being very quiet. We are, we are," she added. "I do not know how fast biters could find us if we stay this quiet."

"Kid," Sari said. "Fast biters aren't that dumb. Even if they can't hear or see us, they can still smell us."

"Oh…" Ducky whimpered. "I did not think of that."

"What that?" Petrie almost gaped loudly. He hugged Ducky with his wings, but even that didn't make him feel any better.

"Oh no," Littlefoot gasped. They all listened. "C-C-Clicking…and growling…"

Everyone become wide-eyed. Except for Sari, she knew such an action would only bring pain to her eyes. She still couldn't open them to know for sure if she would be blind for the rest of her life or not.

"Where did you hear it coming from, Littlefoot?" Sari asked quickly.

"I don't know," he said. "It sounded like it was behind us, but it may have been that way too." Littlefoot swung his head to both the left and right.

"W-What we do?" Petrie stammered yet again.

"Run," Littlefoot whispered to them all harshly. "Run like you've never ran before. This way, quickly." Littlefoot darted off, with Ruby quickly getting ahead of him, still carrying Sari in her arms. Ducky and Petrie refused to let go of Littlefoot's neck. Spike managed to keep up with Littlefoot, never missing a step or dragging behind.

"Fast water!" Ruby said. "Jump now, everyone!"

And so they each jumped at the same time. Littlefoot and Spike narrowly made it to the other side. They'd timed their jumps wrong and only their front legs hit land. They felt the fast water flow past their feet before pulling themselves back onto the land.

"Ruby!" Littlefoot called. He figured there was no point to stay quiet now if the fast biters knew where they were. "Stay in a group! Ruby, come back!"

"Ahh!" Littlefoot, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike screamed in unison. While Ruby kept on running away, a single fast biter came out of the grass right in their path! It clicked its killing claws on the ground then arched its tail toward the sky and extended its hands. The fast biter snarled, revealing a mouthful of teeth. It made a sound that sent chills down their spines and made their blood run colder than water during the cold times.

"RUN!" Littlefoot screamed.

"What way?!" Ducky yelled.

"Charge the fast biter!"

"Are you crazy?" they heard a familiar voice say from behind them. It wasn't Ruby.

"Sari!" Littlefoot gasped. "I thought Ruby had you!"

"She did until a fast biter that snuck up behind her nearly took her tail off," Sari said. "She dropped me and ran off in a panic."

Littlefoot picked the tiny sharptooth up with his mouth, then set her down on his back between Petrie and Ducky. "Hang on," Littlefoot said. He looked at Spike. "Now!" They both charged the fast biter, who actually seemed surprised. Before it had a chance to react, the resulting collision of Littlefoot and Spike into its body sent it reeling into the tall grass.

"We have to find Ruby fast!" Littlefoot said urgently. "She's somewhere in the tall grass by herself and I think that fast biter wasn't alone."

"I think so, too," Ducky said.

"Enough," Sari said harshly. "Just go before they are picking their teeth with your friend's bones!"

"Littlefoot?" Ruby whispered. "Anyone? Hello?"

She could hear her friends yelling for her from somewhere nearby, but between that and all the fast biter sounds, Ruby couldn't determine what direction for sure. It was an unpleasant cacophony of her friends yelling for her, and the fast biters snarling and barking to each other.

"Please…" Ruby pleaded in a low voice. "Is anyone there?"

The fast runner was so afraid. She cowered down with her arms over her head. The feathers on Ruby's back and head were sticking straight up, and a chill shooting down her spine. All these sounds the fast biters made to communicate brought back so many bad memories for Ruby. The worst one was when Red Claw, Screech, and Thud attacked, and separated her from her family. That was a day she would never forget…

 _If I live to not forget it!_ Ruby thought. _Oh, I don't want to die…please hurry, my friends._

A part of Ruby wanted to tell for help, but she also feared that would alert the fast biters of her whereabouts. She knew there was at least two, but likely more. Fast biters always hunted in groups of five or more. Sometimes as many as ten hunted in a single group, depending on the pack's size.

A twig snapped and Ruby nearly jumped out of her feathers.

"L-Littlefoot?" Ruby whispered. "Is that you?" Then she covered her mouth with her hands and ducked down further yet. She heard the clicking unique to fast biters from where the sound of a snapping twig came from. Ruby looked up to see a single fast biter walking overhead. It didn't see her, she almost fainted. Its killing claw being so close to her head made her skin crawl.

 _Oh, please,_ Ruby silently pleaded. _Hurry, my friends. I don't want to die…_

Ruby could only hope for a miracle right now. But the fast runner knew, the only possible saviors would be her friends. She doubted any of the grown-ups looking for Cera would be so close to them, or looking for Cera in a place like this. Ruby remembered hearing that Etta was with them, so they probably knew that fields in The Mysterious Beyond were fast biter hunting grounds, or even territory.

Finally, the fast biter moved on. It must not have seen Ruby. _Thankfully,_ she thought. But then, as soon as it had moved on, Ruby heard someone else walking around.

"My friends?" Ruby whispered. "Is that you, this time?"

Getting no answer told Ruby to be quiet. If it were any of her friends, they would have answered her. It had to be another fast biter searching the tall grass for her friends. A loud snorting sound confirmed Ruby's worst fear, that it was a fast biter. So did the killing claw stepping down _right in front of her face_!

 _Oh, no,_ Ruby thought. _I'm done for now…_

Ruby looked up to see the fast biter towering over her. She wasn't sure at if it had seen her yet, so Ruby froze. She didn't even breathe or blink, let alone move. The fast biter hadn't looked down yet. It only snorted at a low tone as it scanned the air for prey. Ruby heard it sniffing. Now, she realized why it hadn't seen her: the fast biter's head was above the tall grass, which must have concealed Ruby entirely. At least from view. She was worried that the fast biter could still smell her, given how close it was. Yet…if it did, then why hadn't it looked down toward her?

"Ruby!" She heard Littlefoot's voice call from nearby.

 _Oh no,_ Ruby thought. _Be quiet, Littlefoot._

The fast biter responded by moving away from Ruby. It dashed off in the direction Littlefoot's voice came from, but then stopped with a confused look on its face. Suddenly, it ran in a different direction from where Littlefoot's voice had carried, and where Ruby was hiding.

Ruby didn't hesitate to get up. She had to take advantage of the fast biter's confusion and run toward Littlefoot's voice. But it was not long before Ruby heard another fast biter snorting. This time, Ruby had no time to from its line of sight. She heard a growing from right in front of her, then a fast biter appeared from the tall grass only inches from her!

"No, no, no," Ruby whimpered. "This can't be…"

The fast biter arched down and extended its arms toward Ruby, then it lunged at her. The fast biter collided with Ruby, who screamed as its front claws gripped her shoulders and its jaws went for her head, as they both tussled on the ground…

"HELP!"

Littlefoot gasped. "That was Ruby! Hurry! It came from this way."

He didn't give the others time to react. Littlefoot vanished through the tall grass in a second. The others followed his trail and Ruby's cries for help. In between them, the friends heard the growls of a single fast biter.

"Help!" they heard Ruby scream again. "Please! Somebody, anybody! HELP!" Then the fast biter screeched. "No!"

"RUBY!" Littlefoot screamed. The terror in his voice couldn't be missed. "Hurry up! We may be too late…"

Littlefoot came onto the scene first. Spike, who had taken over the responsibility of carrying the others, crashed into Littlefoot. But he didn't budget. Littlefoot was like a statue.

"Littlef…" Ducky began. "Oh no, no, no…"

"Ruby…" Ducky wasn't sure if Littlefoot or Petrie said that.

They saw Ruby fighting the fast biter through the blades of grass. The fast biter was winning. It had Ruby pinned to the ground with its front arms, as she tried to stop it from locking its jaws around her head.

"Get away from her!" Littlefoot yelled. He charged the fast biter, but wasn't quick enough. It started with Littlefoot feeling warm blood spray his face, then a bloodcurdling scream splitting the air. The friends saw a set of jaws lock around Ruby's skull, and teeth penetrate the bone with a sickening *crunch*.

"Ruby!" the friends, even Spike, screamed. Not one of them hesitated to tackle the fast biter, which led to it release its grip on Ruby. But they saw her blood dripping from its jaws and shredded flesh hanging from its teeth.

The fast biter lunged at Littlefoot, but it would regret such an action. A hit from Littlefoot's tail sent the fast biter reeling across the ground. It had enough and ran off in the opposite direction.

"Ruby…" Littlefoot wept. "N-No…" He shook the fast runner's body, but she didn't move or say a word.

Ducky and Petrie were lost for words. Anything they wanted to say died on the tips of their tongues. They and Sari hopped down from Spike's back, but stopped there.

"I can't believe Ruby is gone…" Littlefoot sobbed. His tears hit the dirt.

"Litt…"

"Huh?"

"Little…foot…" Ruby groaned.

"Don't talk, Ruby!" Littlefoot gasped. "You're hurt!"

"Go…without me," Ruby coughed. "I can't feel my back or legs…I think the fast biter hit my back with its…killing claw…"

"But…" Ducky began.

"Just go," Ruby whispered. Her voice was fading fast. "Find Cera…save her before…this happens to her…" Ruby breathed an incomplete breath, but it turned into a hiccup, and then she was silent. But this time, she would not surprise her friends.

"Wake up…" Littlefoot sobbed. The others were crying (except for Sari, she couldn't cry because of how the hot steam had burned her eyeballs). "Please…we can't do this without you." He stood up and screamed: "RUBY! Come back…please…"

But Ruby would never stir, nor say another world. Her chest had stopped rising and falling, and she'd become completely still.

Ducky began stammering. "W-What do we d-do?" she asked. "We cannot just…leave Ruby's body here. Those fast biters will eat her!"

"That is why we won't," Littlefoot growled. "Not out in the open like this…we can't stay here, but we will bury Ruby so no sharptooth will make a meal of her. I won't stop for it…this is too much as it is!" Then he stomped his feet. "I swear, I will make the fast biter that did this pay after we bury our friend."

"Littlefoot," Sari said. She didn't want this to sound wrong, but it had to be said. "Don't be a fool. You can't fight a sharptooth. Just look at what it did to Ruby. You really think any of you stand a better chance than your friend did?"

"No," Littlefoot said. "But we can't let that fast biter get away with this!"

"Ruby wouldn't want you to die for her," Sari said. "I knew dinosaurs like her. She'd want us to get out of here to live another day, and rescue Cera. We need to do that and get back to your Great Valley before anything else happens to your friends."

"You're right," Littlefoot said. "But I will not go without giving Ruby a proper burial. I wouldn't…be able to live with myself if a friend died, and I could have done something to spare her body from being eaten by a sharptooth…"


	25. A Miracle?

**Chapter 24:**

 **A Miracle?**

The female threehorn sniffed.

Cera wished she had never left The Great Valley now. Sure, she'd met Thorn and loved him (in more than one way), but if it weren't for her, at least he'd probably still be alive. She felt at least partially responsible for what had happened to Thorn. She didn't care if it was his selfless decision and him wanting to care for him. Cera still felt that she was at least partially responsible.

If it hadn't been for her damn busted ankle, she could have been able to run away without needing a distraction!

 _I'm useless,_ Cera thought. She snorted, and swore steam blew out her nostrils. _All I'm good for is getting those I love killed…_

She felt tears forming on her eyes. At this point, Cera had all but given up. She just let the tears flow down her face. Cera saw no point to do anything anymore. If she didn't have a goal and friends that cared for her, Cera would probably go out into the wide open, and scream for a sharptooth to come put her out of her misery. She was so confused about everything that had happened. What had she done to deserve being hunted by countless sharpteeth, a busted ankle, almost dying in an earthshake, and then, if all that wasn't bad enough, losing the only dinosaur she'd ever fallen in love with? Cera felt like she was being punished.

Cera looked up at the sky, an angry glare on her face and tears flowing down it. She began yelling, somewhat irrationally. "What I have done to deserve all this? Huh?" She began running around in circles and stirring up the dry dirt, not even caring if it made her ankle hurt more. "What have I done that makes me deserve being hunted by sharpteeth, almost dying too many times to count, and losing the one I love?" She stomped on a ground crawler that was unfortunate enough to have been within range of Cera's tirade. Cera didn't even give it time to prepare to sting her.

"Oh, I'm just talking to stinking air," Cera growled. "There's no one out here to answer me. I may as well get moving. There's nothing here for me."

The threehorn grumbled to herself until she figured out what direction was east again. She had to keep going that way if she ever wanted to accomplish what she had gotten into so much danger for. Just because she had lost all hope didn't mean Cera wouldn't keep going until she had closure. Still, at the same time, she couldn't stop blaming herself for what happened to Thorn either.

Cera sighed. _I think I've lost more than just hope_ , she thought. _I don't even know what to believe anymore. Should I keep acting on instinct and what I've learned? Or should I be like the yellow bellies, and not think too hard on things?_ At this point, Cera felt she had lost her faith too. She had been raised to think things out, but sometimes that could be worse than just doing what your heart told you. But now, Cera didn't know whether to use her brain or her heart to make decisions.

"Faith?" Cera scoffed. "How could any sane dinosaur have faith, hope, or anything positive in a place like this? Death is the only thing that is everywhere in The Mysterious Beyond."

She looked out across the bleak landscape. There were too many things that reminded Cera of death. The dried blood, the bleached white skeletons of dinosaurs, the bone-dry landscape. There wasn't any green food or water that Cera for miles, that Cera could see. Her mouth was so parched, and her stomach growling constantly. She'd found food and water, enough to keep her alive for all these days, but she was still on the verge of going insane over how thirsty and hungry she was.

 _Will I ever see my friends again?_ Cera wondered. _Are there even looking for me or worried that I have gone missing? Is anyone even missing me?_

Cera knew she hadn't exactly been the nicest of dinosaurs growing up. She wouldn't be surprised if there were dinosaurs who didn't care if she wandered into The Mysterious Beyond and got eaten by a sharptooth. At this point, Cera wished that would happen. She had lost all her faith in everything and everyone, and had barely any hope left to keep her going. Even thoughts of Littlefoot didn't determine Cera to stay alive. It was the thoughts of her single goal that kept this threehorn going. Barely, though.

"That cliff looks nice…" Cera said. She approached it and looked over. "Maybe I should just…"

Cera imagined herself "falling" off the cliff. If anyone found her, they would assume it had been an accident. By then, sharpteeth would have picked her bones clean of flesh, though, so maybe no one would know it was ever her. A part of Cera just wandered to disappear from this world and never be heard from again. Cera didn't even find happiness in thinking about all the good times she'd had with her friends anymore. She blamed The Mysterious Beyond's bleak appearance, and all its dangers, for that.

The threehorn stepped closer to the edge. Jumping off was seeming more and more appealing, the more Cera looked below. Maybe should hit her head just right on that boulder and be gone before she felt a thing. She went forward with one foot, then the other…

"Cera!"

"Huh?" Cera backed up and spun around. There was no one behind her, but she could have sworn someone just called her name. It had been a female voice, not unlike that of Tria. Or…

"…mom?" Cera asked. She faintly remembered her mom's voice from her earliest days of life. The voice she'd just heard was reminiscent of it. A cool wind, which was odd for this time of year, blew past her. It seemed to embrace Cera as if it were living. "W-What is going on?"

As quickly as it came, the breeze went east. It was as if it wanted to Cera to follow it. Of course, the threehorn was confused. She'd ever seen something like this before. This was almost unbelievable, she thought. Cera had always been a bit of a skeptic because of her dad, but she believed this, and she ran after the breeze.

"Cera…"

That time, it confirmed what Cera had thought the first time. That was her mom's voice! She'd only heard it twice, maybe thrice, before the great earthshake separated them, but no dinosaur ever forgot their mom's voice. In this moment, Cera forgot all about her hurt ankle, and anything that had made her question her beliefs. Only two things were on Cera's mind: following the voice and her memories of Thorn. The breeze continued to whisper Cera's name. Although she couldn't see it, of course, but something told Cera what way to run, other than hearing that same female voice.

"Wait!" Cera called. It was as though she thought the voice would answer her. It didn't, except by only calling Cera's name out again. Suddenly, the air became warmer again, and the light from the bright circle shown through the sky puffies down on Cera. Just as quickly as the air became warm, the bright circle warmed Cera. It was almost unnatural how quickly Cera felt her body warming.

Cera hadn't been one for believing miracles could happen, but of all those she'd witnessed (whether she knew it or not), this was the one that made her believe. She also believed, with all her heart, the voice that had stopped her from ending it all was her mother. Littlefoot's tale of his mom's spirit guiding them came to her. His mom had watched over him, even after her death, and now Cera's mom had watched over her. Not only had this incident make Cera believe miracles were real, but it also made her believe that loved ones never truly left their family behind after death.

Cera started to cry. But for the first time out here, they were tears of joy. If it hadn't been for (she believed) her mom's intervention, she would have ended her own life. Although her ankle hurt again and she still missed Thorn, Cera had a new outlook on not just life, but her beliefs. There was so much more that she believed, which she had been skeptical of up to now.

She prayed she would see her friends again after her journey was over, and another miracle would happen. Cera hadn't seen what happened to Thorn and his screams hadn't been ones of pain, so there was always a chance they would see each other again during her lifetime. (Which would be a long one, now, thanks to her mom's intervention.) Nonetheless, Cera had never been this thankful before. Not since Littlefoot had made the difficult decision to live with them in The Great Valley instead of leaving with his father, Bron. Cera would have been heartbroken if Littlefoot had left them, but understanding at the same time, of course. She hoped she'd never have to make that kind of decision in her life.

 _I don't think I'd be able to do it,_ she thought. _I'll admit it, I'm not as strong willed as everyone thinks I am._

Cera blinked her tears away. She wondered how far away from her destination she was. She'd already gone pretty far into The Mysterious Beyond. It couldn't be much further, could it?

"Only time will tell," Cera whispered. She climbed up a sloped rock formation that flattened out on top to get a better view of her surroundings. She'd had enough of just guessing where she was going, and would take advantage of this rock formation.

"Hmmm…"

Cera looked out at the horizon to watch the great circle disappear, but eventually decided to focus on only on looking for the canyon where Pterano led part of the herd to their deaths. It had to be here somewhere, she thought. She couldn't have missed it, could she? There hadn't been any box canyons yet, that Cera knew of. She didn't see any box canyons now, either. Who knew finding it would be so difficult?

She squinted her eyes, but it didn't make much of a difference. Cera sighed. "Maybe I'm not meant to find it after all," she said. "Should I just return to The Great Valley?" It was as though she was actually asking someone, even though she no longer sensed the presence of her mother watching over her. She hoped talking even though there was no one to talk to would bring her mom back to guide her again.

"Please!" she pleaded at the sky again. "I don't know what to do anymore." Then she sounded as desperate as Littlefoot had when they couldn't find The Great Valley years earlier, and he'd been looking for his mom's guidance. "It's just too hard…" Cera started sobbing with her face buried in her paws.

"Cera…" the voice came again, at all.

"Mother!" Cera gasped. She stood up immediately. "Please, give me a sign…I can't do this for much longer."

The bright circle was still half way up in the sky. It was enough for it to shine across the stretch of land below, as if it was forming a path for Cera to follow. When the light stopped, Cera gasped. She couldn't believe what it'd revealed: a box canyon! Needless to say, Cera was ecstatic. More so than she had been any time she could remember from recent events.

This was the best thing she could have hoped for, except for still having to get over there. That would be the hard part, Cera feared, but she was ready to get closure after all this time. If it could even be called that at this point in her journey, with all she'd been through, including losing the dinosaur who would probably never get to know how she really felt about him.

Nonetheless, Cera was ready for to do this. She was too resolute after all what happened just now to just give up. That encounter at the cliff had given Cera a new look on life she'd never thought she would have.

Cera looked for a way down, then cautiously went down the dusty slope. As she did, Cera swore she saw a sky puffy in the shape of a threehorn watching over her. Seeing it gave her a feeling of comfort, as if there was finally someone who would never leave her, no matter what happened next.


	26. Close Call

**Chapter 25:**

 **Close Call**

"It is not your fault, Littlefoot," Ducky said. "No, no, no. You could not have known Ruby would be separated…"

"I know, but I _should_ have done more than I did to keep her safe," Littlefoot argued. "No matter how you look at it, Ruby might still be alive if it weren't for me…" He stopped there. His tears began to hit the dirt. Littlefoot's heart was filled with much regret. He wished there'd been another way around that field.

Sari, although she probably wouldn't be able to see again, looked at Littlefoot. "Listen to me, kid," she said. "Bad things happen. You can't do anything about it, so don't blame yourself for something you have no control over. Didn't your mother, or anyone, ever talk to you about the circle of life?"

"Yes, but…" Littlefoot began.

"Then you shouldn't be blaming yourself just because your friend was killed by a sharptooth," Sari cut him off. "You should know things like this are meant to happen and nothing can be done to stop them, no matter how much we wish we could do something to protect our friends and family from death. Everyone dies eventually, it's just all part of the circle of life, as far as when goes."

Littlefoot still wasn't convinced. Sure, that was something his mother had taught him about when he grew up in The Mysterious Beyond, but he'd made a decision that cost one of his best friends her life. How could he not blame himself for what happened to Ruby, circle of life or not? Sari's words gave the longneck more comfort. Littlefoot looked at the ground, continuing to weep.

Petrie landed in front of Littlefoot. "Me think Sari right," he said. "No one can change what circle of life have planned for us."

Littlefoot opened his mouth, but no words came out. Instead, a roar carried across the land, sending chills down each of their spines. There wasn't a doubt in their minds about who it was.

"R-R-Red Claw!" Petrie screamed, then subsequently wrapped his wings around Littlefoot's neck, almost choking him.

"I hear him," said Ducky, "but I do not see him."

"Me hear Screech and Thud too," Petrie said.

"It doesn't matter where they are," Sari said. "We should just get out of here before they find us."

"But Red Claw cannot climb up _that_ ," Ducky said. They were atop a small, sloping hill. It was not too far from the tall grass where Ruby died.

"But Screech and Thud can," Littlefoot reminded her. "It's too dangerous to stay here."

"There is Red Claw!" Ducky gasped. "But I do not see Screech and Thud." This confused her.

"Who cares?" Sari said. "That's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. Let's get our tails moving before those two rock heads _do_ show up."

"She's right, Ducky," Littlefoot said. He put his tail on the ground so Ducky could get onto his back, then lifted Sari up onto his back. Ducky held onto the tiny sharptooth as Littlefoot began to run. Spike stayed by Littlefoot's side, and Petrie, of course, took to the air. He wasn't about to be anywhere on the ground while sharpteeth were in the area, especially not when there could be fast biters.

"What way we go?" Petrie asked. He flew at head level with Littlefoot.

"Any way but that way," Littlefoot answered. "Red Claw must have heard us, but he can't get up the hill…"

"Yet…" Ducky finished Littlefoot's sentence nervously.

"Me see them!" Petrie suddenly squawked in alarm.

"Who?" Littlefoot asked.

"Screech and Thud!"

Littlefoot, Ducky, and Sari gasped. Spike, of course, remained silent, but out of fear this time. The spiketail almost froze when he heard those two fast biters' names, but Littlefoot convinced him to keep moving.

"We have to go before they catch us!" Littlefoot said. "Now." Spike grunted, then ran ahead of the group, much to Littlefoot's concern. After what happened to Ruby, they couldn't just split up anymore, and he let Spike knew it. "Come back, Spike!"

"Where he going?" Petrie was alarmed.

"Spike!" Ducky gasped. "Come back!"

Littlefoot's heart sank. He heard a familiar clicking sound behind him, followed by snarling. He shook as if they were in the middle of an earthshake as his head spun around. Littlefoot found himself staring Screech and Thud in the face. _Now_ he knew what Spike hadn't come back.

Littlefoot started screaming as he ran for his life. Ducky and Sari could barely hold onto his neck as he ran. Petrie flew up high so Screech and Thud couldn't reach him by jumping into the air. That was a common thing for fast biters to do when they saw a flyer within their jumping range. Petrie was _not_ about to get eaten, not after what they saw happen to Ruby. But he would think about that later, his friends were in danger now.

 _But what can me do?_ he thought. _Me too small to do anything to Screech and Thud. Unless…_

Petrie flew up even higher, much to his friends' confusion, and then, against his better judgment, dive-bombed the two fast biters squawking madly. Screech and Thud screeched in alarm. They'd never seen a flyer do anything like this, especially not a flyer they knew to be a coward (in their minds) from past encounters. But now, Screech and Thud were wondering if that assumption was as accurate as it had been at the time. First, Petrie dive-bombed Thud, who ducked, and then he circled back around to go right for Screech's eye with his beak.

Screech, although shocked by Petrie's sudden bravery, anticipated his attack, and hit the ground at the last minute. Petrie's beak stabbed nothing but air, then he looked around with confusion on his face. Thud noticed this and took advantage. He swung his tail up at Petrie and sent the flyer soaring back toward his friends, screaming.

"Petrie!" Littlefoot gasped, then felt his friend collide with his head.

Littlefoot was lucky Petrie's beak hadn't been stuck straight out when they collided, but it still knocked them both senseless for a minute. Screech and Thud advancing on them, though, quickly brought them out of it.

Petrie perched on Littlefoot's head, then the friends took off running again just as Screech and Thud lunged at them. The fast biters got mouthfuls of burnt soil, not their intended prey, and began spitting with disgust upon realizing their error. Thud barked something at his brother, then they ran off in opposite paths after Littlefoot and his friends. Screech with to the left and Thud to the right, while the leaf eaters ran straight across the hill top.

"Where they go now?" Petrie asked. He was watching from behind, still perched on Littlefoot's head.

"Huh?" Littlefoot gasped.

"Me no see fast biters," Petrie said.

"That is not good," Ducky said. "No, no, no. Screech and Thud are smart even for their kind, they are."

Petrie cranked his head around. "Look out!" he screeched. "Fast biters!"

"Where?" Littlefoot asked.

"There!" Petrie screamed. "Coming around the other end of the hill. Me saw them! STOP!" He covered his eyes with his wings, not wanting to see what would come next.

Littlefoot screeched to a halt in the nick of time. From either side of the clearing, Screech and Thud hopped down in front of the leaf eaters. Littlefoot and Spike considered running the way they came. That is, until Red Claw charged toward them from that way.

"Oh, no," Littlefoot said. They all began whimpering.

"We are surrounded!" Ducky gasped. She, too, covered her eyes. "I cannot look…"

"Don't look, Spike," Littlefoot whispered. "It will be over quick if we don't look…"

They both closed their eyes, then each friend began praying for either a miracle, or quick deaths. They began to shake tremendously as Red Claw and the fast biters approached them slowly. They heard the sharpteeths' feet hitting the ground, and expected to feel their teeth and claws ripping their flesh any minute now. Minutes went by and they began to wonder what the sharpteeth were doing. At first, Littlefoot wondered if the sharptooth were only delaying their deaths to instill fear in their hearts first.

That is, until Littlefoot and his friends heard what sounded like a fight. They heard roars of sharpteeth, and bellowing of what sounded like longnecks and threehorns. There was a powerful *thud*, almost like a rockslide, and then more bellowing. All the while, none of Littlefoot or his friends opened their eyes. They were almost too afraid to. Before they knew it, whatever had happened was over, except for the sound of three dinosaurs running away.

"It's alright now," they heard a familiar voice said. "They're gone."

 _Is that…?_ Littlefoot thought. He opened his eyes to see that it was! "Grandpa!" he exclaimed. "Grandma!"

"Mama!" Ducky and Petrie exclaimed together.

"Mr. Threehorn, too?" Littlefoot asked. "How did you find us?"

"We heard Red Claw," Mr. Threehorn said.

"And then all of you screaming," Petrie's mother added.

"But you're safe now," Grandpa Longneck said. None of the grown-ups needed to ask what they were doing out here. They all knew Littlefoot, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike were looking for Cera. But there was one thing they needed to ask.

"Who's this?" Mr. Threehorn asked.

"Sari," Littlefoot answered. "She saved us from Red Claw and his fast biters, but she was hurt in the cave we snuck through. Hot steam…" Littlefoot wanted to stop there. Relieving that moment made them sick to their stomachs.

Chomper stepped forward suddenly. "Where's Ruby?" he asked. "Didn't she want to come with you to look for Cera?"

"Umm…" Littlefoot said. The others didn't want to be the one to break the news.

"What?" Chomper asked. He seemed oblivious of what might be said. The grown-ups, however, knew what was coming. The looks on their faces told Littlefoot and his friends them.

"I don't know how to say this…" Littlefoot said. He and his friends (except for Sari, who couldn't due to her injuries) started to cry.

Now, Chomper seemed worried to. "Please tell me," he said, "nothing happened to Ruby."

Finally, Littlefoot mustered just enough courage to tell Chomper. "I'm sorry, Chomper…" he began hesitantly, "…but when we went through a field, fast biters attacked." There was a collective gasp. "Ruby was separated and…"

"No!" Chomper gasped. The grown-ups were silent.

"A fast biter got to Ruby…before we could save her," Littlefoot concluded. "It's all my fault…I should have led us into that field…" Littlefoot looked away from the others, feeling ashamed that he had to tell Chomper, whom he raised from a hatchling, that his next closest friend was gone, and he'd never see her again. Worse yet, Littlefoot admitted he felt he was to blame for Ruby's death.

Although he was in tears, Chomper said, "Littlefoot, I don't blame you for w-what happened to Ruby." He paused to wipe Littlefoot's tears away with his claws. "You shouldn't either."

"But, she would be alive if I hadn't…"

"Littlefoot," he heard his grandma say. "Things like this happen, even if we do not want them to. We can't blame ourselves. Such tragedies are only an unfortunate part of the circle of life."

Although his heart told him otherwise, he knew his grandma was right. Littlefoot had known this since the day his mother died, and that dinosaur, Rooter, told him that very thing.

And then, just as now, only time would make Littlefoot's feelings of guilt and sadness go away. Littlefoot had to focus on what was happening now. They had to find Cera before it was too late and she ended up like Ruby.


	27. At Last

**Chapter 26:**

 **At Last**

"It's not as close as it looked from all the way up there," Cera muttered to herself.

Over half an hour after she had spotted a canyon from on the cliff above her, Cera was still walking to it, and it didn't seem to be getting any closer. The great circle beating down on Cera and the lack of water didn't help matters any. She was panting constantly, and on the verge of collapsing from weakness. Other than the unforgiving heat, Cera's ankle was giving her fits. It'd been healing slowly, but not fast enough to handle all this walking (and running!) she'd done since initially shattering it.

 _Too much running to count…_ Cera thought, then yawned. _At least I'm near my journey's end…or maybe not. I don't have any quick way back to The Great Valley…_

Cera wiped her forehead with one of her paws. She'd always thought dinosaurs couldn't sweat like this, but she sure was right now! If only there was as much water to drink, she thought, as she had sweated. She'd probably never go thirsty again if that were the case.

Regardless of the negative aspects of this current situation, Cera couldn't deny how relieved she was to have not seen sharpteeth for days now, especially after what might have happened to Thorn. Cera feared she would never know for sure if Thorn had been killed by that fast biter, or possibly outsmarted it like he'd done to the other two. If he had somehow survived, Cera hoped he would find her, or at least remember her directions to The Great Valley. Either way, Cera wished with all her heart that they would meet again one day, in life.

Other than her friends and direct relatives, Cera hadn't loved anyone before she met Thorn. She honestly didn't know what she would do without someone like… _No, forget that,_ Cera thought. _There's no one like Thorn out there for me!_ She didn't know what she'd do without Thorn in her life. Cera thought living without Thorn as a husband would almost be almost as bad as without Littlefoot and Ducky as her best friends.

Still, Cera knew she had to try and keep looking on the bright side of things. On top of there being no sharpteeth for days, the weather was nice except for it being hot. Cera was especially thankful that there were no sand clouds or whirling winds today because she had no place to hide from them this time. Not even a cave only large enough for one dinosaur.

 _I probably wouldn't fit into that small of a cave anyway,_ Cera thought bitterly. _All that green food I ate before this happened…_ Of course, with the lack of green food in The Mysterious Beyond, Cera had probably lost some weight, whether she wanted to or not. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten a proper meal now. Her stomach growled constantly, even when she slept, as if it was beginning Cera to find food that didn't exist in this region of The Mysterious Beyond.

Worse yet, Cera's mouth was parched, almost as dry as the sand she walked on. She barely had any spit left in her mouth. Cera wouldn't last much longer if she didn't find food, or especially water, soon. Cera hated sky water, but, oh, what she wouldn't right now for it. She'd be alright with a storm, even if there were whirling winds, because it'd mean there would be sky water. Cera was so desperate for water that she'd risk a flooded region if it meant not dying of dehydration. Even just one drink of water…right now, Cera wanted that more than getting back to The Great Valley.

 _Okay, maybe not,_ Cera thought. _I long to be back in The Great Valley with my friends and family more than anything. Not having any green food or water is making me delirious…and tired._

* * *

Elsewhere, the grown-ups plus Littlefoot and his friends were discussing how they would find Cera now. They feared Red Claw, Screech, and Thud might make things even more difficult than they already were.

Mr. Threehorn sighed. "A small part of me fears we'll never find Cera," he said. "I don't want to think that way again, but things aren't looking bright."

"I hate to say this," Grandpa Longneck said, "but I'm afraid Mr. Threehorn may be right. We haven't seen a sign that Cera is still…" He saw Littlefoot's expression and thought of another way to say what he almost did. "…with us." He knew saying "alive" would have been too much for Littlefoot. All of this was already too much for him, and the others didn't want to make this any worse than it had to be.

"I'm sorry you have to hear this, Littlefoot," Grandma Longneck said. She immediately corrected herself to include all of Cera's friends in that.

Littlefoot sniffed. Tears dripped from his snout. "I'm…alright," he whispered. But everyone knew that wasn't true. This was Cera they were talking about. They knew Littlefoot was anything but alright right now, without even having to look at him. Even Sari, whose eyes weren't healing (and probably wouldn't, everyone fear, unless a miracle happened), sensed how upset Littlefoot was.

Littlefoot turned around. He didn't want everyone to see how upset he was getting, not even his friends.

"Chomper?" Grandpa Longneck said. "I know you're upset over what happened to Ruby…but do you think you can still help us find Cera? We must find her before its too late."

Chomper sniffed. "I-I think I can still find her scent again," he said. The sharptooth wasn't sure. He'd cried a lot in the short since everyone learned what happened to Ruby, and his nose was stuffed as though he had a cold. Nonetheless, Chomper started sniffing the air, then the ground. He got a faint whiff of something familiar. "I…I…" Chomper sniffed harder. "I think Cera was here sometime in the past few days. And…" He sniffed harder than ever. "…another threehorn was with her."

"Another threehorn?" everyone gasped.

"Are you sure?" Mr. Threehorn asked. "I've never heard of a threehorn that lives in the dry region of The Mysterious Beyond."

"Positive," Chomper said. "A m…" He stopped there. The sharptooth knew Mr. Threehorn wouldn't want to hear that.

"Why'd you stop?" Mr. Threehorn asked.

"Oh, nothing," Chomper said.

"Come on, tell me. Don't hide anything about my daughter from me."

"Okay…" Chomper already started to take cover behind his friends. "The other threehorn is a he."

That didn't register with Mr. Threehorn at first, but when it did, a shocked expression like nothing anyone had ever seen before came over his face. His eyes were wide with disbelief.

"WHAT?!" Mr. Threehorn yelled against his better judgment. He usually knew better than to yell like that in The Mysterious Beyond, but any common sense he had left went away in this moment. "A _boy_? My daughter is with a _boy_?"

"Topsy," Tria whispered harshly. "Do you want every sharptooth in the area raining down on our heads? Lower your voice, for crying out loud. Are you trying to get us all killed?"

Mr. Threehorn immediately realized how big of a mistake he'd made and shut his mouth, literally. That didn't stop everyone from glaring at him, though. The deed was done, they thought, and they needed to get going before any sharpteeth that might have heard his outburst find them.

Grandpa Longneck cleared his throat. "Chomper," he asked, "could you follow Cera and this other threehorn's scent trail, if it is possible?"

"Maybe," the sharptooth said. He put his snout to the ground and began following Cera's scent. She must have been traveling with the mysterious threehorn, he thought. The leaf-eaters followed him, keeping a keen eye out for sharpteeth. Petrie's mother, Etta, and other fliers kept watch from high in the sky for sharpteeth. They would surely notice any before the others.

"I think he is onto something," Ducky said. "He is, he is."

"Me hope so," Petrie said. "Me so worried about Cera and hope she alright."

Littlefoot didn't say anything. He was too focused on staying near Chomper, who seemed to be following a solid scent trail to where Cera hopefully will be. The rest of his friends stayed near the grown-ups. Sari rode on Spike's back, flat on her belly with limbs sprawled out, to avoid falling off. She was still weak from the ordeal she went through in that cave, and didn't feel up to doing much of anything.

They heard the roars of sharpteeth in the distance and picked up the pace a little.

"That was Red Claw," Chomper said, without looking up from the ground he was sniffing intently. "I know his roar anywhere. Screech and Thud won't be far behind."

"Then I suggest we get moving as fast as we can," Grandpa Longneck said. He looked up at the fliers. "Do you see them, yet?"

"Nothing yet!" Etta called down. She was in the lead of the fliers, which numbered at no more than half a dozen. "But I think a storm may blow in. I see sky puffies on the horizon."

"That will be good fortunate," Grandpa Longneck said. "We need some water right about now."

"We'll need to be careful, too," Mr. Threehorn said.

"Whatever for?" Grandma Longneck asked.

"We're walking on sand," the threehorn explained. "Too much sky water will make it soft like sinking sand. Softer, even."

"I've never heard of such a thing," Grandpa Longneck argued.

"What haven't you heard, flathead?" Mr. Threehorn grumbled.

There was a collective gasp from all around.

"I beg your pardon?" Grandpa Longneck said with offense.

"You heard him," Mr. Threehorn said in a cocky voice.

"Just stop it!" a female voice screamed. Everyone soon realized it was Tria. "Topsy, you're acting like a jerk! What happened to the almost respectable dinosaur I had a daughter with?" Then she said, "Tell me, would you care if something happened to Tricia or me, or _Cera_?"

Mr. Threehorn backed off. "O-O-Of course I would," he stammered.

"Then start acting like it!" Tria yelled. "All you do is disagree and complain ever since Cera ran off. It's no wonder she came all this way: she probably did it to get away from you. I can't say I blame her, I'm beginning to wish I never got hooked up with you again! You're not the same dinosaur you were when Tricia hatched."

"Tria!" Mr. Threehorn pleaded.

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say," Tria said. "Maybe when we find Cera, you'll change. But then again, maybe we'll make friends with Red Claw and those fast biters, too," she added with bitter sarcasm. She walked to the back of the herd.

Mr. Threehorn attempted to follow Tria, but Grandma Longneck stopped him. She wasn't exactly pleased with Topsy's sudden behavior shift either, whether it was due to him being upset over Cera's disappearance or not, but she thought it was best to stop him before things got worse.

"I wouldn't right now," she said, casting a harsh glare down at Mr. Threehorn. "You've done enough for a lifetime already. I suggest you stay away from Tria for some time."

"Everyone's turning against me," Mr. Threehorn grumbled. "Even my own family."

Littlefoot had enough. "I can't blame them!" he said, spinning around suddenly. "If I were Cera, I would have run away from home too. You're not deserving of being called a 'dad'."

"Excuse me?" Mr. Threehorn said. "What do you know about fathers? You didn't know you even had one until before two cold times ago."

"I know enough about fathers that they don't act like you," Littlefoot spat. "I wish you were the one who disappeared and not Cera. I'm sure no one would miss you after a while."

Chomper interrupted the heated arguing suddenly. All the while, he hadn't stopped following Cera's scent. "Follow me, quickly!" he said urgently. "I think Cera is near."

Even the longnecks and Mr. Threehorn forgot about arguing when they heard those words. First Chomper ran in the way he'd smelled, then the rest of the group followed just as quickly. The argument could be dealt with later. Regardless of it, everyone still agreed Cera should be their main concern. Not acting like children over that old bigot threehorn.

"Cera!" Mr. Threehorn called.

"Topsy, don't!" Tria gasped. Regardless of anything she or him said, Tria couldn't let Topsy put them all in danger. "There may be sharpteeth."

"Cera!" he called again, as if he didn't hear Tria's warning.

Before anyone saw Cera, Mr. Threehorn remarkably got a response! "Daddy?" a female voice said. "Daddy!"

"Cera!" This time, everyone other than Mr. Threehorn gasped.

Littlefoot perked up all of a sudden. "Cera?" he gasped.

"Where are you?" Cera called. "I can't find any of you."

"We'll follow your voice," Chomper said back. "Just keep talking."

Cera did just that and soon Chomper was able to locate her. The group found Cera after searching around a bend or two. She was resting by a rock formation of no recognizable shape, with her right leg stuck out to her side.

"Cera!" Littlefoot said. For once, he was crying tears of joy. "You're alive!" But upon getting closer to her, the groups become worried. "Your foot," Littlefoot said, "what happened?"

"I was chased by a sail-backed sharptooth," Cera groaned. Everyone gasped. "I got away, but I fell through a hole in the ground into a cave. My ankle was busted up pretty bad."

"And you survived all this time?" Ducky gasped. "I cannot believe it."

"I wouldn't have if I'd been alone," Cera said. A sad look came over the threehorn's face of a sudden. "I met another threehorn in that cave, Thorn, who helped me get around." Tears started to flow from her eyes again. "But…"

Littlefoot almost asked, but he knew it was best if he didn't.

"…we were attacked by a family of three or more fast biters," she continued. "He told me to stay where I was, safe up on a ledge, and he'd distract them. Thorn must have led two of them into a trap because I heard fast biters scream like I've never heard before, but the third…the last thing I remember is Thorn screaming, then silence…"

"Oh," Ducky almost sobbed.

"I'm sorry, Cera," Littlefoot whispered. As best as a four-legged dinosaur could, he embraced Cera gently.

Through tears, Cera suddenly noticed someone was missing. She saw Littlefoot, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, and Chomper but…

"Where is Ruby?" Cera asked.

Littlefoot couldn't bring himself to reveal it again. He just dropped his head in guilt.

"We were attacked by fast biters," Ducky said, "in the tall grass. Ruby…she was separated…"

"No!" Cera gasped. "Don't tell me she's…"

"She is," Ducky sobbed. "A fast biter got her before we could save her."

Cera growled. Hate began to fill the threehorn's heart. "Fast biters have taken so much from me!" she snorted. Steam blew from Cera's nostrils. "First my mom and sisters, then someone I didn't even get to tell I loved him, and now one of my friends! If I could make fast biters go extinct, I would!" Cera yelled. "We'd forget they ever existed…"

"Cera!" Tria gasped.

"Tria!"

"Oh, we're so glad you're alright," Mr. Threehorn said. "I don't know what we would have one without you."

"I'm sorry about your loss," Tria said. She looked away from Cera, with a strange feeling in her gut all of a sudden. Something told her to look behind everyone else. She gasped. "Cera! Is that…?"

"Huh?" Cera gasped. Despite her bad ankle, she spun around. There came a lone threehorn, no older than Cera, with one horn chipped, and a few small scars covering his body. Cera stood up on all fours. "Thorn!" she gasped. "I can't believe it. Is it really you?"

"It is," the threehorn groaned.

"How did you get away?" Cera asked quickly.

"It's a long story," Thorn said.

"Tell me," she pleaded. "Please."

"Well," Thorn began, "after I took care of those two fast biters, the third thought she could avenge them. She was wrong. I took a beating as you can see, but after the fight, that fast biter had enough."

"What happened to your horn?" Ducky asked.

"That's why she had enough," Thorn said. "The tip of that horn broke off inside the fast biter's belly." Everyone shuddered. The thought of that sent chills down their spines, even Thorn as he told the story.

"Oh," Cera said happily. "I'm just glad you're alright." She added, "For the most part. I don't know what I would've done without you."

"I feel the same way," Thorn said. "I was worried something bad had happened to you when I didn't find you where I left you."

"I thought you were dead," Cera said, "so I left before the fast biter found me too. I heard you screaming in pain…"

Thorn nuzzled Cera with his head. "We're together again," he said, "and I won't let anything split us up again. I promise."

Cera smiled. "Then there's just one thing I have to do still," she said. "Could you help me get to that canyon over there? My leg gave out here, I don't think I can carry myself that far on my own."

"I have a better idea," Thorn said. He looked up at Littlefoot's grandparents, who seemed to know what Thorn was thinking without him saying a word to them.

"Of course we can help," Grandma Longneck said for both of them. She lowered her head down, then Thorn and Littlefoot assisted Cera in climbing up onto it.

"Go slowly," Cera whispered. "I get sea-sick easily…" She gagged already, even though she was not being raised up in the air yet. It was just the thought of being so high up in the air again that made her sick. She remembered the ride on Elsie's (a type of swimming sharptooth, except much nicer) from 'the mysterious island' back to the beach when they were much younger. The great valley dinosaurs had been looking for a place to live until The Great Valley was fertile again, thanks to swarming leaf gobblers that had plagued the valley one day, years ago.

As Grandma Longneck raised her head back toward the sky, Cera began to feel sick to her stomach even if she was going up toward the sky slowly. It was all Cera could do not to throw up. (If she even could, since Cera hadn't eaten much in the past few days.)

"Ohhh…" Cera groaned. Her body fell flat on Grandma Longneck's head. She knew setting or standing up, other than being risky, would only make her feel more nauseous than she already was.

"It isn't that far, dear," Grandma Longneck said.

"Oh, I hope it's not…" Cera gagged. She closed her eyes and, soon, fell asleep curled up atop the longneck's head.

Cera awoke a few minutes later to hear an urgent voice calling her name.

"Cera! Cera!"

"Huh?" Cera almost stood straight up, but she remembered being up high on Grandma Longneck's head so she suppressed the urge. "What's going on?"

"We're here," Grandma Longneck said. She began lowering her head back to the ground. There, Cera carefully stepped off. Littlefoot and Thorn were there in case she fell (which she thankfully didn't).

Cera took off for the canyon. Everyone gasped at this.

"Cera!" Littlefoot said. "Wait for us. It could be dangerous. You remember my grandpa's story about Pterano—there may be fast biters in that canyon!"

That did it for Cera. She screeched to a halt and waited for the others to catch up with her. "Sorry," she said to Littlefoot.

"It's alright," Littlefoot said. "I just don't want anything happening to you now that we've found you."

For reasons she didn't understand, those words almost made Cera blush. She hid it from them, even Littlefoot, though. Cera didn't want anyone to see her blushing, not even Littlefoot, despite her feelings for him.

Thorn helped Cera up. "I'll make sure nothing happens this time," he said.

"Let's go," Cera said.

It shocked everyone to hear her sounding so resolute about this. Still, they could tell the threehorn was nervous as the group walked toward the canyon. Nervous in anticipation of what they would find there. Would there be fast biters still, or had it been long abandoned by the fast biters that killed all of the dinosaurs who followed Pterano? If not, then the grown-ups would be ready to fight them off. They weren't about to let anyone else get killed by fast biters like Ruby had been.

With Thorn's help, it was not long before Cera reached the mouth of the canyon. The grown-ups and her friends were right behind them the entire time. They were relieved to hear nothing but the wind blowing as they stood at the mouth of the canyon.

Grandpa Longneck looked down at Chomper. "Do you smell any fast biters?" he asked.

Chomper sniffed the air powerfully just to be sure. "Not one," he said. "Now is the best time to do this."

"Careful, Cera," Thorn whispered. "Don't forget, your ankle hasn't healed yet."

Cera seemed to ignore everyone in this moment. She hobbled, because of her bad ankle, toward the mouth of the canyon. The other dinosaurs heard her groaning in pain, and they all stayed near her in case something happened. Chomper said he didn't smell any fast biters, but they didn't want to take the chance after what happened to Ruby, according to Littlefoot.

Soon, Cera disappeared from the others' view. All was silent at first, but Cera suddenly yelled out in alarm.

"Cera!" Littlefoot gasped.

Everyone came running into the canyon at once. They learned Cera was alright, but distressed. The first thing she had found was the skeletal remains of a grown-up threehorn with three young threehorns by her side. The young threehorns' skeletons had been shattered, but Cera could still tell they had been threehorns at one point.

"Cera…" Littlefoot began.

"I knew to expect this," Cera wept, "but it's still so shocking." She looked from left to right at each of the skeletons. "My mother…and my sisters…" Yet again, tears flowed down Cera's face, and this time she didn't try to stop it. She couldn't even if she'd wanted to.

Mr. Threehorn and Tria came up behind Cera. He opened his mouth to say something, but a knowing looking from Grandpa Longneck stopped him.

"Let her be," Grandpa Longneck whispered. "Don't make things harder on her right now. It's best if we don't say anything to her."

Mr. Threehorn nodded. "You're right," he said. "But I do need to say this: I'm sorry."

Grandpa Longneck was confused. "I beg your pardon?"

"For everything I just said," he explained. "I shouldn't have said those things."

"You were upset," the longneck said, "and worried deeply about your daughter."

"That shouldn't excuse what I said, though," Mr. Threehorn disagreed. "No matter how any of you look at it, it was foolish of me to call you a 'flathead' and say anything else I did. I'm telling you I'm sorry whether you want to hear it or not."

Grandpa Longneck blinked. For once in his life, he wasn't sure what to say at first. "Well," he finally said, "I guess I've got no choice but to accept your apology, Mr. Threehorn."

Mr. Threehorn looked at Cera. "I just hope Cera will be alright after all she's been through," he said.

"She will be," Grandpa Longneck assured him. "She'll heal with time, I'm sure."

"Cera's always bounced back from things," Tria cut in. "It will take time, but she'll bounce back from this too."

"I don't think Cera will be the same after all she's been through in the past few days," Mr. Threehorn said. He hated to admit that, and the others could tell, but it was the truth.

"You're right," Grandma Longneck said. "She won't be. She's grown up a lot in the past few days. I don't think Cera will look at the world the same again. If she didn't before, Cera knows now that the world can be a cruel and even unforgiving place."

"But…on the bright side," Grandpa Longneck added, "she's found someone to help her heal." Everyone knew he meant Thorn. "I think Thorn will be the best thing that could have happened to Cera after all this. They may be closer than ever now since they both thought they lost the other to The Mysterious Beyond's countless dangers."

Mr. Threehorn nodded. "I agree," he said. "When the time is right, I will have to get to know Thorn. It's only proper, he may be my grand children's father when Cera reaches that age."

Cera looked behind her. Thorn and Littlefoot were standing there.

 _They've always been there for me,_ she thought. _Especially Littlefoot. And now they're here for me again. But I've changed with all I went through. I'm not the same threehorn Littlefoot and my friends knew before my journey began. I'm more grown up and matured than I ever thought I would be at this age._ She stood up. _And now that I've found where my mom and sisters died, there's still one thing I have to do before anything else happens._

Cera turned her attention to Thorn. Littlefoot's heart told him what was about to happen and he gave the two threehorns some space. "Thorn," she said, "I wanted to tell you this earlier, but those fast biters ruined the moment…"

"Yes?" Thorn asked.

"I wanted to…" Cera said. She was so nervously. A look from Littlefoot that said "You can do it" gave her the confidence to finish her sentence. "…tell you I love you." Everyone's attention turned to Cera and Thorn, including Mr. Threehorn and Tria. "I love you more than someone to raise young with when we're older. You saved my life many times and for that, you've earned my trust and respect too. If it weren't for you, I would have given up, and not made it to this point. I wouldn't be alive if I hadn't met you.

"You took care of me when I couldn't want," she added. "I will always be in your debt."

"You don't need to make up for what I did," Thorn said. "I was doing what my heart told me was right. I'd do it all again for you, or anyone, if I had to."

"Oh, Thorn," Cera cooed. She nuzzled her head against his neck.

The other dinosaurs began cheering and, in the case of two-legged dinosaurs like Ducky and her mom, clapping. Despite how tragic it must be for Cera having to see her mom and sisters' skeletal remains, they had never been as happy for Cera as they were now. She finally had someone she could really spend her time with, other than her friends. (They tried not to think about the terrible thing that happened to Ruby right now.)

Ducky and Petrie started to cry tears of joy, then they hugged each other. Petrie wrapped his wings around Ducky as they sobbed.

"Oh, I am so happy for Cera!" Ducky cried. "I am, I am!"

"Me so happy too!" Petrie cried. "Me never been this happy." He was also confused. "If me so happy, why me crying so much?" Then he started crying over Ducky's shoulder, which Ducky also did over Petrie's shoulder.

Littlefoot looked away from his friends. Although not to the extreme Ducky and Petrie were, he was also very happy for Cera. In fact, Littlefoot couldn't remember a time other than when they found The Great Valley that he'd been so happy. After all the tragedies they (especially Cera) had faced, it warmed Littlefoot's heart to witness something good for once. She deserved this, he thought, after everything bad that happened to her. Being with Thorn again seemed to get her mind off her hurt ankle.

Cera pulled her head back from Thorn's shoulder. She looked at the remains of her mom and sisters again.

Thorn noticed this. "I'm sorry you had to see your mom and sisters like this," he said to Cera. "I guess I was lucky to not see what happened, or the aftermath anyway, to my family when I was young."

"I'll be alright," Cera said. "I'm already feeling better than I ever have. I needed to see my mom and sisters, even if it had to be like this, one last time after my dad told me what happened to them. I don't think I could have slept at night or even focused on life if I didn't do this. I know, that probably doesn't make a lick of sense."

"It does," Thorn said.

"Really?" She looked at everyone. They all nodded in response to her question as she looked left to right, then back again. Finally, her eyes set on Thorn again.

"Then I think it's about time we went back to The Great Valley," Cera declared.


	28. Cera's Real Nightmare

**Chapter 27:**

 **Cera's Real Nightmare**

"Are you sure you'll be alright with riding on Etta's back all the way to The Great Valley?" Grandpa Longneck asked Sari. "It could be dangerous, with your injuries."

Sari's eyes still hadn't healed much from when they were scalded by the hot steam. Some of the dinosaurs who had known, and now knew her, story feared she'd never be able to see again. Sari, on the other hand, seemed to have accepted that fate, no matter how terrible it was. She would finally live in a safe place, The Great Valley.

"Yes," said Sari, "I am. I'd rather be blind and live somewhere safe like The Great Valley, then be able to see and live in somewhere dangerous like The Mysterious Beyond. If I can be safe, I'll be able to live with never seeing again."

"You are very brave," Grandpa Longneck said. "Not a lot of dinosaurs I've met were as optimistic about blindness as you are."

"My parents raised me to take what life gives you, and deal with it," Sari said. "I don't complain about things. I make of life what I can, and forget the rest. If I can't see again, then I won't make a big deal out of it. I'll just adapt to it like I have to everything else."

"I wish you the best," the longneck said.

"You too," the tiny sharptooth replied. "See you back in The Great Valley." Then she turned her head to speak to Etta. "Do try not to fly too fast. I have no problem being blind, but I don't want to the life scared out of me."

"You got it," Etta said, then took off. The other fliers, except for Petrie's mother, followed her. Now that she knew Petrie was out here, she didn't want to leave him. Although, like Ducky's mother, Littlefoot's grandparents, Mr. Threehorn, and Tria, she wasn't exactly pleased with her son that he'd disobeyed their orders to _stay in The Great Valley_. Of course, while Littlefoot and his friends had never listened to the grown-ups when they said that, it had never led to tragedy. At least, not until this time. Their decision to disobey that order cost Ruby her life, but the grown-ups wouldn't blame her friends for that. They were worried about how Ruby's parents and siblings would react, though, if they ever heard the terrible news.

After the fliers had left, Mr. Threehorn and Tria walked over to where Cera and Thorn. While Thorn was setting up, Cera had decided to rest on a patch of tree fuzz Thorn had gathered for her. She was flat on her back, with her bad leg stretched out. At least until she heard the footsteps of her parents approaching and awoke with a jolt. She'd been sleeping better than she had any other attempt in recent time.

"Huh?" Cera asked. She was still a little groggy. Shaking her head seemed to relieve that, though. "What's going on? Are we leaving now? I was sleeping so well…" Cera's voice faded into a yawn.

"Not yet," Mr. Threehorn said. "We just wanted to talk and get to know Thorn before we go."

"Oh, alright," Cera yawned again. She got up and nearly fell over. "Maybe I wasn't sleeping as well as I first thought."

There was one question burning in Tria's mind. "How did you find our daughter?" she asked. "I don't believe I was around when you explained that the first time. I've only heard bits and pieces of it in the others' conversations."

"Well, I had been living in a cave system by myself ever since I was orphaned," he began.

"What happened to your parents?" Mr. Threehorn asked.

"A fire mountain exploded," he said. "I hardly remember it, but I remember my parents leading me into that very cave, and never seeing them again. I know now what happened to them." A sad look came over the still young threehorn's face. "That is how I was there when Cera fell into the cave. When she woke, she told me she'd just barely escaped from a sail-backed sharptooth.

"I took care of her until she was able to walk again," he continued. "And that's about it to how I found her. I thought it was on accident at first, but I know now that fate brought us together. We were meant to be together, and I'm so happy fate brought us together."

"I just wish it had been under better circumstances," Cera butted in. She cast a glare at her ankle, beginning to wonder if it would ever heal. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to use that foot properly again," she said.

"What do you mean?" Mr. Threehorn asked. Concerned looks came over all three of their faces.

"I _shattered_ the bone against solid ground," Cera said, a little bit harshly, "after falling from above into a cave." Mr. Threehorn and Tria couldn't blame her for her tone this time. "Would you expect any shattered bone to heal? If I lived in The Mysterious Beyond, a sharptooth would pick me off with little effort."

"She's right," said Thorn. "I took good care of Cera after she was hurt, but I don't think her ankle will ever recovery."

"At least she'll be safe from sharpteeth in The Great Valley," Mr. Threehorn sighed. "Whether it does properly heal or not won't be much of a concern in our valley."

Cera's mind began to wander to other things. This all seemed to have changed her father as well, but could she forgive him for causing all of this? If he hadn't kept what happened to her mother and sisters secret from her until recently, she wouldn't have busted her ankle, Sari wouldn't be blinded for life, and Ruby would still be alive. The only positive from this, other than Cera finally having closure, was that she'd met the love of her life. But it was overshadowed by knowing she'd never see one of her friends (Ruby) again.

 _Should I really be blaming Dad for everything that happened because of his secretiveness?_ Cera wondered. _He couldn't have known that hiding the truth from me would lead to Ruby's death, and anything else that happened._ Thorn, Mr. Threehorn, and Tria noticed Cera seemed to be thinking about something, but they didn't say anything. They would wait for Cera to speak. _I don't know what to do. Should I forgive Dad or not?_

 _Yes, Cera_ , a familiar voice said in her mind.

 _Huh?_ Cera thought. _M-Mother?_

 _Yes,_ the voice spoke in Cera's mind yet again. _It is me. Your father has wronged you, but you should forgive him. It is wrong to hold grudges, especially against family. Find it in your heart to try and forgive him._

 _I will!_ Cera said in her mind. _I promise I will. But what will I do without you?_

 _I'll always be with you,_ the voice said. _I'll be in your heart Cera. You'll never be without me, and if you ever need guidance again, I'll be there to give it to you. I love you._

 _I love you too, Mom,_ Cera thought. _And I'll never forget you. Thank you._

Cera no longer felt her Mom's presence, but believed she would be there in spirit if she ever needed her.

Littlefoot was the first to approach her. "Is something the matter?" he asked.

"Nope," Cera replied. "In fact, I feel better than I ever have." She wanted to say, "I know Mom is watching over me even when I can't see her," but she knew her Dad would always be a skeptic even if he'd finally changed for the better. Cera turned to her dad, then looked at him. "Dad," she said.

"Yes, Cera?" he asked.

"I forgive you," Cera said.

"F-For what?" Mr. Threehorn stammered.

"For not telling me what happened to Mom and my sisters until that day," she explained. "I shouldn't have acted the way I did. I was upset, but I know you've always tried to do what is best for me." Her tone of voice became less optimistic, and sadder, all of a sudden. "I just wish I never left The Great Valley…Ruby would still be alive if all of you hadn't needed to come for me. I feel responsible for what happened to Ruby, and to an extent, Sari also."

Mr. Threehorn spoke before anyone else could. He wanted to be the one to say what everyone was thinking. "But you couldn't have ever known your friends would come looking for you," he said, "and get into danger just to find you. You shouldn't blame yourself for a tragedy like what happened to Ruby and Sari."

"But, I—" Cera began.

"Your dad's right, Cera," she heard Thorn say. He came up beside her. "I said this before, but even the worst tragedies like what happened to your friend can't be controlled. Sometimes the circle of life brings things our way we wish never happened, and we can't control what life brings us. We wish we could, though. My parents would still be alive if we could change fate."

Cera blinked. "I guess you're right, all of you" she said. "But I'll always miss Ruby. I-I just wish I could have been there to say goodbye to her…I'll never get to see her one last time."

"She'll be in our hearts, Cera," Littlefoot said. "Like our mothers, Ruby will never truly leave us. I believe she'll always watch over us all, especially Chomper. In a way, she'll never truly be gone. Your sisters aren't either."

Cera started to cry. But they weren't tears of sadness. She wasn't happy of course, but Cera wasn't sad either. It was a bittersweet feeling, she thought. Cera never thought someone could be happy and sad at the same time, but she was.

Cera blinked her tears away. "I've never felt this way before…I'm happy and sad at the same time—"

A roar split the air. Cera and the others forgot any feels they'd had, except for fear. Everyone recognized the roar.

"Red Claw!" someone cried out.

"And Screech and Thud, too!" Ducky screamed.

"Not them again!" Cera growled. "Don't they ever give up?"

"Red Claw will never give up," Mr. Threehorn said. "Not until the day he dies. And that must be now. He'll always be a threat to everyone as long as he breathes."

"Daddy!" Cera gasped. "Don't!"

But it was too late to convince him to stop. Cera watched in terror, as she was held back by Thorn and Littlefoot, as her dad charged Red Claw. There was a bellowing howl when one of Mr. Threehorn's horns pierced Red Claw's leg. Blood sprayed his face before he backed away. Red Claw roared at Mr. Threehorn and attempted to take a chunk out of the threehorn with a bite, but missed. The sharptooth stepped on his hurt leg wrong, and fell to the ground, but got right back up.

"I can't let this happen!" Cera said. "I won't lose my dad, too!"

"Cera, no!" Thorn gasped. But it was too late: she'd already run toward where her dad and Red Claw were fighting. However, Thud saw the younger threehorn coming, and jumped in front of her. Cera began to scream as the fast biter opened his jaws wide.

"Cera!" Mr. Threehorn gasped. Red Claw took advantage of the distraction and head-butted his rival onto his side.

Tria charged the fast biter and while she didn't pierce him with her horns like she'd intended to, Thud soared through the air, and collided head first into a boulder. The impact nearly snapped his neck, but he got right back up, and shook his head. Thud lunged through the air at Cera, but found himself stuck between Tria's horns. A look of horror came over the fast biter's face when he realized he couldn't move. Tria swung her head around and for a second time, Thud went headfirst into the same boulder. This time, the collision rendered the fast biter unconscious.

Screech saw enough. It was time he avenged his brother or died trying. Enraged, he lunged through the air onto Tria's back. Screech began ripping away with his teeth and claws. Tria screamed, then arched backwards to send Screech through the air away from her. But he was on her back again in an instant and was about to inflict serious injury with his killing claws when something sent him reeling.

"Leave her alone!" It was Grandma Longneck. He'd struck the fast biter in the side with his tail. Now, Tria knew what she'd heard bones cracking when Screech had disappeared. The impact of the longneck's tail must have broken a few of Screech's ribs. The fast biter laid on the ground, curled up in a ball, letting out an agonizing groan.

"Topsy!" Tria screamed.

Red Claw was going for Mr. Threehorn's throat with his jaws opened wide, and dripping with saliva. Grandpa Longneck wouldn't let it happen. Although it was risky considering his age, he body slammed Red Claw away from Mr. Threehorn. This gave him the break he needed to get back up, and get ready to fight again.

"Get out of here, longneck," Mr. Threehorn said. "You can't fight at your age."

"Neither can you, Mr. Threehorn," Grandpa Longneck countered. "Red Claw is too strong for either of us at our age."

"But then who can—" Mr. Threehorn began, then forget what he was going to say. "Cera, run!"

Red Claw was getting up just as Cera hobbled over to her dad. Cera hadn't noticed until her dad yelled, and she froze, aside from her screaming. The last thing she saw was a set of jaws coming at her, then—

"CERA!" Thorn yelled. He charged Cera and head butted her in the gut. Red Claw bit into dirt, which he spit out upon realizing he'd been outsmarted. He roared at Cera and Thorn, more enraged than ever. Red Claw gave Screech and Thud orders, but the fast biters couldn't get up. Thud was still knocked out cold, and Screech was in too much pain to move.

Red Claw would have to do this himself, he thought.

"Go, Cera," Thorn said. "I'll distract him."

"No!" Cera argued. "Come with me. You can't fight Red Claw, and you know it."

"But I can distract him," he said. "I told you I'd never let anything happen to you again, and I'm not about to break that promise."

"Then come with me! I don't want to lose you again."

Thorn gave Cera a look. He knew she was right. Cera needed him, especially now. "Alright," he said. "Let's go."

Red Claw charged them, but again he only got a mouthful of dirt and grass. The sharptooth spit and sputtered, then roared yet again, before taking off after Cera and Thorn.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, Thorn," Cera said. "My ankle's giving me problems again."

"Then I'll carry you," Thorn said.

"Wh—" Cera began. Thorn running underneath her, and flipping Cera back onto his back caught her off guard. He ran, even with all of Cera's weight pushing down on his back. Thorn wasn't about to let some rock head take someone he was close to away. Thorn would do anything and everything to protect Cera, like he always had since he first found her in his cave.

"Hold on, young'uns!" a voice said. But no one recognized it. No one but Littlefoot, that is.

"Dad?" Littlefoot gasped. He couldn't believe it.

"Bron?" Grandpa Longneck said. "He's here?"

And sure enough, there came a longneck charging down the hillside toward the scene. Everyone saw that it _was_ Bron after all. But what was Littlefoot's dad doing here and where was his herd?

Bron grunted as he body slammed Red Claw into the cliffside. Red Claw bellowed in pain, but turned right around to deal with this new nuisance. The sharptooth and Bron bellowed at each other, and dodged each other's blows. Red Claw made an attempt to grab Bron's head in his jaws and Bron attempted to break a few ribs with his tail, but they both failed. So the fight continued, with even the two incoherent fast biters watching. Screech and Thud weren't about to get involved in another fight, not with a pounding migraine and broken ribs to show for the first fights they got into.

"You like to pick on kids now, do you, Red Claw?" Bron said to the sharptooth bitterly. "Well, now you can deal with me, if you think you can handle a grown-up longneck."

Red Claw snarled and clenched his teeth together. He'd about had it with this longneck's taunting and it had only just begun. He snapped his jaws at Bron's neck, but bit into air hard enough to chip one of his teeth in half. This only succeeded in enraging Red Claw further. He spit the broken tooth out, then swiped at Bron with his hand. There was a ripping sound as the sharptooth's clawed hand swiped right across Bron's eye, leaving a gash that reminded Littlefoot of Doc's scar.

Bron didn't let that slow him down. Not even the blood dripping into his eye. The adrenaline coursing through his body wouldn't let Bron stop now, even if it were a serious injury. But all of a sudden, Red Claw lost interest in Bron, and seemed to leave. At first, Bron was confused, but then he realized Red Claw's real reason for backing out of the fight: Cera and Thorn. He must have spotted them watching the fight from behind a dead bush.

"Kids, get out of there!" Bron called out. "He's seen you."

Cera and Thorn attempted to run, but Red Claw towered over them before they could move an inch. The threehorns closed their eyes, shaking while they expected teeth to rip into their bodies, but it never happened. When they opened their eyes, Cera and Thorn noticed they were still in one peace. But then—

"No!" Cera screamed. "Littlefoot!"

Her oldest friend lay on the ground right in front of them, where the bush had been, with several puncture wounds on either side of his body.

"You…monster!" Bron roared. Forgetting his injury or the blood in his eye entirely, Bron charged at Red Claw like a dinosaur possessed. As soon as he'd body slammed the sharptooth, Bron whipped his tail around and hit Red Claw right across the side. Everyone heard the crack of Bron's tail, and then of Red Claw's ribs breaking.

Screech and Thud sprang into action, but the leaf eaters were stunned to see who it was they were attacking. The two fast biters jumped onto Red Claw's back, and began taking swipes at him with their killing claws. This distracted Red Claw just enough for Bron to catch him off card and slam him right through a rock formation, shattering it beyond recognition. Screech and Thud hopped off of Red Claw's back just as Bron went for him again, incensed beyond imagining over what Red Claw did to his son.

While the fighting went on, Cera stood over Littlefoot speechless. The puncture wounds in Littlefoot's body were deeper than anyone had first thought. A pool of blood had already formed under his body.

"N-N-No!" Cera stammered, then screamed. "Littlefoot! How could this happen?" Tears streamed down her eyes. She not only felt grief, but hatred like nothing she'd felt before. Cera wanted to, whether she had a busted ankle or not, kill that damn sharptooth herself for what he did.

"C-Ce…ra," Littlefoot coughed.

"Littlefoot!" Cera gasped. "You'll be alright. I-I'll take care of you."

He coughed again. "No…I don't think you'll be able to," he whispered. "I've lost too much…blood already."

"But…you can't leave me," Cera sobbed. "What will we do without you?"

"I'll always be with you…even if you can't see me." His mother had said those same words to him when she'd lied dying in front of him.

"But, you'll never leave me," Cera whimpered. "We're always going to be together…"

"We will be," Littlefoot whispered. He felt himself growing weaker with each ounce of blood that left his body. Cera hardly noticed she was standing in the dark red pool. Her grief was too great to notice anything else but Littlefoot right now. "You may not see me, but I—" he coughed hoarsely. "—I'll never truly…l-leave any of you."

Bron charged right into Red Claw's gut. The sharptooth fell over near the ledge, where once again, Screech and Thud went in to distract him once more. They drew vast amounts of blood from the sharptooth they'd once respected until they bared witness to how cruelly the sharptooth injured that young longneck for standing up to him.

Thud was capable of understanding leaf eater talk, unlike his brother, and remembered the brief exchange. It was something he and his brother would never forget witnessing.

"You want to pick on my friends," Thud remembered Littlefoot saying, "then you deal with _me_ first."

After that, Red Claw had mercilessly struck Littlefoot aside with a swift kick along with the dead bush he'd stood upon, and then picked up him in his jaws, before dropping him back down right in front of those two young threehorns. That was when Screech and Thud had decided they couldn't put up with someone like Red Claw any longer. He'd done this before, but in the past Screech and Thud only stood by, and watched. But not anymore. They were done letting Red Claw do things that were cruel, even for sharpteeth.

Screech buried his killing claw into Red Claw's neck, leading to a painful bellow. Red Claw attempted to snatch whoever did it with his jaws, but there was no one there. Screech and Thud got out of Bron's away so he could slam the sharptooth closer to the cliffside as soon as he stood up.

Bron's eyes turned red with hatred. "You'll pay dearly for what you did to my son," he growled, "and to Shorty too."

Red Claw had taken Shorty's life only a week earlier, when their herd had been on their migration route to visit Littlefoot in The Great Valley, and now Bron had come across this. He'd ordered the rest of his herd to stay behind, but they were watching from just at the top of the hill. They'd all seen what happened to Littlefoot and were horrified with that, and everything else, that was unfolding in the canyon below.

Bron whipped the sharptooth's ribs with his tail for a second time. The agonizing bellow told everyone he'd broken the same ribs further, and maybe some others. "That is what you get for taking _two_ songs from me!" Bron yelled. "And this!" He looked at the two anxious fast biters. "Now!"

Bron and the two fast biters all went for Red Claw at the same time when he stood back up to fight. Screech and Thud went for his feet, while Bron body slammed him headfirst. Red Claw's tiny arms swung as he tried to balance himself on the edge of the cliff, but to no success. Red Claw roared as he fell backward off the cliff, all the way down until he hit the hard ground below. The snapping of Red Claw's neck was heard by everyone, and signaled his tyranny was finally over.

But at a cost…

Bron, followed by the two reformed fast biters, went to where Littlefoot still lay. Tears formed in everyone's eyes as they watched the young longneck's punctured chest rise and fall slowly, between greater intervals of time with each breath.

"Littlefoot…" Bron began.

"D…Dad?" Littlefoot said weakly.

"I'm here, son," Bron said. His tears dripped down onto Littlefoot's side. Other than that, sky water was coming in fast. It began to pour as soon as everyone noticed the storm coming, but they didn't care.

"W-Where's Shorty?" Littlefoot asked. He coughed.

"Red Claw," Bron said angrily. "Red Claw took him from me."

Littlefoot become silent. Bron and the others noticed his breaths becoming less frequent.

Cera approached her oldest friend again, weeping. Thorn and her parents stayed back. They knew it was best if no one talked to Cera right now but Littlefoot. Everyone feared she and Littlefoot's time together would be ending, and no one wanted to take a minute away from any time together that did remain.

Littlefoot looked up at her with cloudy eyes. "Cera…" he began. But then he gasped once, breathed a short breath, and his chest fell. A minute, then two, then three went by, and Littlefoot's chest never rose again.

Littlefoot's last thought, although cut short before the life in his body expired, was: _Now we'll always be together, Mother…_

"I love you…" Cera sobbed.

There wasn't a dry eye in the canyon now. Not even Screech and Thud, much to the shock of some who were present, couldn't hold back their emotions. They'd been through this, and while most wrongly thought sharpteeth didn't have hearts, Screech and Thud sympathized with Cera over her loss. She didn't seem to notice the two fast biters right now, or anyone else for that matter. All she saw was Littlefoot, and couldn't accept the fact that their time together had been cut short.

"Cera—" Mr. Threehorn began.

"What?" Cera barked. She saw it was her dad, but still didn't care.

"Topsy," Tria whispered. "Not now. Let her be."

Mr. Threehorn agreed. He wanted to be with his daughter in this tough time, but realized talking to Cera might only make things worse. Her other friends must have realized this also, for none of them were by her side either. At least not at first. Soon, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, and Chomper came to be on either side of Cera. She ignored them, though.

"Littlefoot…" Cera cried. "Come back…please."

"Oh," Petrie cried. "Me can't take it…"

"I-I cannot either," Ducky whimpered. Once again, she and Petrie embraced each other. Chomper and Spike stood like statues, with Littlefoot's grandparents towering over them. His grandparents' tears were like drops of sky water, but went unnoticed among the actual sky water pouring down on the dinosaurs.

Petrie's mother landed on the ground beside Ducky and Petrie, but didn't say anything to them. She put the hands at the ends of her wings together and prayed for a miracle, for Cera's sake. Petrie's mother couldn't believe this had happened to Littlefoot. Neither could Ducky's mother, whom the flyer stopped by her side.

"Let our kids be," Petrie's mother said. "Now is not the time to bother them." Ducky's mother only nodded in response. Everyone here thought to themselves that it was best if they didn't say anything.

Ducky and Petrie's mothers looked at Screech and Thud. Before now, they and none of the others present would have expected this. The two fast biters actually seemed to be taken aback by Littlefoot's death, as much as the others were. Despite the sincerity they seemed to have in their feelings, everyone else just hoped Cera didn't see them right now. Sure, they'd actually helped lead Red Claw to his demise, but they were still sharpteeth. It didn't help matters any that one of them had tried to kill Cera and Tria (who was hurt, but would be alright when the bleeding stopped) before having a change of heart.

Her eyes still dripping with tears, Cera looked up from Littlefoot all of a sudden. Her glance landed on Screech and Thud, and everyone noticed.

"Oh no," Petrie's mother said.

But Cera did not react how anyone had expected her to. She went over to the fast biters, who started to worry about how the threehorn would react to them being here.

But when Cera finally spoke, everyone was shocked. "Thank you," she said to the fast biters. "If you hadn't helped my friend's dad, I don't think Red Claw would have gotten what he deserved."

Screech was confused, but Thud took advantage of his ability to understand leaf eater talk. He told his brother in sharptooth talk what Cera had just said. Then, they both nodded since they couldn't speak leaf eater.

Thud snarled something that no one other than Screech understood. Despite that, Cera seemed to deduce what Thud said. "I think," Cera said, "he said Red Claw deserved what he got, and they'd do it again too."

Bron spoke now. The grief in his voice was noticeable, now having no children since Red Claw had taken both Littlefoot and Shorty from him, but he managed to say this: "Thank you, both." Bron never imagined he'd be thanking sharpteeth for anything, but here he was doing just that. "I don't know what to do to repay you for avenging my sons' deaths."

Thud seemed to say Bron didn't need to do anything to repay them, albeit in sharptooth talk. Somehow, Bron knew what the fast biter said to him, though.

"What do we do now?" Cera asked in a voice choked with grief.

Grandpa Longneck stepped forward. His eyes were red from crying, as were Grandma Longneck's eyes, and those of many others. He would speak for everyone. "We will give Littlefoot a proper burial," he began, forcing himself to say what was needed, "then return to our valley. There is nothing left here for any of us."

"What about Screech and Thud?" Ducky asked. It was a serious question. "They have nothing left here either."

"Well…" Grandpa Longneck began. "I don't want this to come out as if I have something against them, but we can't let sharpteeth into our valley." Chomper knew that didn't apply to him. "I appreciate what Screech and Thud did, but they were raised to be like other fast biters, and could wind up hurting someone out of pure instinct."

"I have a solution to that," Grandma Longneck said. "There is a spot just outside The Great Valley where they could live without the worry of other sharpteeth, and have all they need."

Cera's eyes became wide. "If you mean the swamp, I'll take no part in it," she said. "I'd rather take the long way around into our valley." She became silent again. "But let me be alone for a bit…I need to think."

Cera walked away, thinking of Littlefoot all the way. The first thing that came to her was her memories of when they first got to know each other. They'd played in the swamp under the spiky tree before Sharptooth attacked, trying to capture hoppers that always outsmarted and outmaneuvered them. They never caught any, of course, but Cera and Littlefoot had lots of fun just chasing the hoppers around.

Cera knew, no matter what happened next, that she'd never forget all the good times her and Littlefoot, and their friends, had together. Cera knew she'd get over her grief of losing her first real friend with time, but she would never forget about Littlefoot or Ruby. She would always miss them, no matter what anyone did for her. But she knew in her heart that Littlefoot and Ruby, like her mother had promised, would always be with her even if she couldn't see them.

Despite the recent tragedies in her life, knowing this gave Cera some comfort that things might get better soon after all. But only with time.


	29. Getting to Cera

**Chapter 28:**

 **Getting to Cera**

Though the weather was fine when the dinosaurs finally returned to The Great Valley, a cloud still hung over their heads. That cloud was the death of Littlefoot. Bron and his herd had followed them back to the valley. Bron had wanted to be with his parents. They had no one but their son now, and the loss of Littlefoot, their only grandchild, was especially hard on them. Bron was the only other family they had now, and without Littlefoot, there was no one to extend their family.

Bron sighed sadly. "I can't believe Littlefoot is gone," he said. "I'm sorry we had to meet again under these circumstances. I just wish I could have done something to save him."

Grandpa Longneck looked at Bron. He saw so much of Littlefoot in his son, and wondered if Littlefoot would have grown up to look like him. "I wish I could have, as well," he finally said.

"That's our Littlefoot," Grandma Longneck wept. "Always putting himself in danger's way to save someone he cares about. I just…never thought we would lose him. He was so young…and I don't know what we'll do without our grandson."

Grandpa Longneck nuzzled her with his head, but didn't say anything. Bron noticed the tears forming in his parents' eyes.

"We can be thankful that monster, Red Claw, won't break any more families about," Bron said, "but I-I just wish I could have stopped him before he got to Littlefoot." He paused to blink tears away. "How is Cera taking all this?"

"Not very well," Grandpa Longneck said. "Mr. Threehorn said she hasn't stopped crying or left her sleeping spot since we returned to The Great Valley. Even Thorn hasn't gotten to her."

"Poor girl," Bron said. "I've never lost my closest friend. I can't comprehend what she is going through. It must be as bad as losing family."

The longnecks noticed Petrie's mother and other flyers overhead. They were flying toward the nest of Cera's family.

Bron didn't realize this, though. "Where are they headed?" he asked.

"I believe they are headed to Mr. Threehorn's nest," Grandma Longneck said. "I can't imagine what for, though."

Bron and his parents arrived at the threehorn family's nest not long after the fliers did. They recognized Petrie, his mother, and Etta among the small flock landing on the ground. Ducky, Spike, Chomper, Sari, and Ducky's mother were also arriving.

Sari had regained eyesight in one of her eyes, but only partially. Some feared that was about as much as her eyes would heal, but Sari had accepted her fate. The tiny sharptooth would be safe for the rest of her days in The Great Valley, and that was all that mattered to her.

"What is all this about?" Mr. Threehorn scowled at the small gathering. "Cera doesn't want any visitors right now!" Everyone could hear her bawling from around the bend where the threehorns had built their new nest after the last storm caused a rockslide that left it uninhabitable.

Tria and Tricia (who had begun speaking in small sentences) came up beside Mr. Threehorn, having heard him shouting.

"What wrong, Daddy?" Tricia asked.

"Oh, nothing," Mr. Threehorn said in a calmer voice. "I was just telling them that your sister wants to be alone for now."

"But…they come all this way to see Cewa," Tricia stuttered. Sometimes, she spoke in a similar way to how Petrie spoke, but would probably outgrow it with age. "Please let them, Daddy."

"Oh," Mr. Threehorn sighed. "She's right. Letting Cera isolate herself can't be good for her." He moved out of the way. "You can see her, but don't say anything about Littlefoot or that will upset her."

Everyone nodded. The group, no more than a dozen strong, let Cera's friends and Sari go first.

Ducky gasped when she saw Cera. The threehorn was curled up with her front legs over her eyes, but they still saw that she was crying. "Oh my…" Ducky whispered. "I have never seen Cera like this."

"Maybe we should come back another time," Chomper whispered.

Cera's ears twitched. "Who's there?" she asked, almost bitterly. She uncovered her eyes and gasped, then cast glared at her dad. "I told you I wanted to be alone!" she barked at Mr. Threehorn. "Don't you get that by now?"

"Cera," Mr. Threehorn began.

"What?" she yelled. It was not anger in her voice, but sadness.

"It was not my idea," he continued. Cera blinked with confusion. "It was Tricia. She's been so worried about you."

Cera relented a little upon learning this. She saw Ducky, Petrie, Spike, Chomper, and Sari before she saw anyone else. _They're still here for me, even in my darkest hour,_ she thought. _And so is everyone else I know._ She realized this as she looked around to see some of the grown-ups she was close to, namely Ducky and Petrie's mothers.

"I'm sorry, Dad," she said. "I…it's just a part of me is missing without…" Cera couldn't bring herself to say Littlefoot's name. It brought more tears to her eyes.

Ducky approached her. She wiped Cera's tears away with a gentle hand. That was all she did at first. What Ducky had on her mind couldn't become words on her tongue. But finally, she said something.

"Things will get better, they will."

"I wouldn't know it," Cera said. "The only good thing that's happened to me is Thorn is still alive. But Littlefoot…he's gone forever.."

"But he is not," Ducky said. "He will always be with us in our memories and our hearts. He is no longer with us physically, but he will not truly ever be gone as long as we remember everything we have been through with Littlefoot."

Cera blinked. Where had Ducky learned to talk like this? She sounded as though she'd been listening to Littlefoot's grandparents. Ducky must have been hanging around them recently, Cera figured.

She turned away from the gathered dinosaurs, even her friends. They were all still here, but life would never be the same for Cera now that Littlefoot was gone. So what if he was with her in spirit and in her heart? What was the point of that if she couldn't _be_ with or see her best friend every day? Knowing Littlefoot was gone and nothing could bring him back made Cera feel as though a piece of her heart was missing. No, it was as if a piece of her heart had been _ripped_ out of her chest.

"Cera, please—" It was Mr. Threehorn.

"Leave me alone," Cera snapped. "I appreciate you all being here for me, but I just want to be alone. Why can't any of you understand that?" she sobbed. When they saw her face again, tears were flowing down it.

"Cera, you need to—" Tria tried to take over.

"I don't need to do anything!" Cera yelled. "What part of 'leave me anyone' can't any of you understand? Just forget it! If you can't leave me alone, I'll go somewhere none of you can find me until I feel like talking!"

Cera turned her back on everyone, even her friends and Thorn, and ran way. She did not intend to go to the sheltering grass this time. She'd hidden there once, and everyone would suspect it. But this threehorn had a place to go where no one would likely find her, not even Chomper.

"Cera!" Mr. Threehorn gasped.

"Come back!" Ducky called.

Some of the dinosaurs tried to follow Cera, but Grandpa and Grandma Longneck stepped in front of them.

"Now…is not the time to go after her," Grandpa Longneck said. "She needs time to think."

"But what if she does something to get hurt?" Mr. Threehorn asked with a shaky voice.

"Cera's strong for her age," the longneck assured him. "She wouldn't do anything to hurt herself."

"Besides," Grandma Longneck cut in. "The Great Valley is a safer place than it ever has been recently. Anyways sharpteeth could have gotten into our valley in the past have long since been sealed off. Like Grandpa said, I believe she just needs time to herself to think things through. She's been through more than any of us, and what happened to our grandson, her closest friend, just makes all that so much harder on your daughter."

Mr. Threehorn sighed. "You're right," he finally agreed. "I just hope Cera comes back to our nest before the night circle rises."

"I don't think she'll be home tonight, Topsy," Tria replied. "But she'll be alright. Like they said, Cera is a strong girl. Even her bad ankle and grief won't stop Cera from knowing how to take care of herself. Her surviving by herself in The Mysterious Beyond and dealing with her bad ankle is proof of that." Tria's optimism was cover for how worried she really was, but she was speaking sincerely nonetheless.

* * *

Ruby's thinking place. Nobody would ever imagine Cera coming here to hide from everyone. The threehorn went into the cave where Ruby had often gone to think when something was bothering her. As Cera went into the cave, the memory of Cera and the others freed Ruby from here after an earthshake blocked the entrance with a boulder.

The boulder was still there, right where it had been moved after they'd worked together to free Ruby. There was another boulder blocking a tunnel at the back of the cave, also placed there as a result of the earthshake that day. Cera went all the way to the back of the cave and sat down there. She stretched the leg that her shattered ankle belonged to out in front of her. She began to understand why Ruby had used this cave as her thinking place. Not only was it located atop an isolated hill, but it was peaceful inside. Not a single crack in the ceiling for water to drip through, and nobody ever came here. It was the most isolated spot in The Great Valley. It was no wonder Ruby had called it her "thinking spot" in the past. And Cera had a lot of thinking to do right now.

"If everyone's saying Littlefoot will be in my heart," Cera spoke her thoughts out loud, "then why does a part of my heart feel like it is missing? I don't get it, I just don't."

A part of Cera thought it was because Littlefoot was still with her in her memories, but wasn't here physically. Sure, she'd never forget him, and he would with her no matter what, but it just wasn't the same. She'd never see Littlefoot again in this lifetime, and just the thought of that almost made Cera depressed. The only thing that kept her from reaching that point was not Thorn or anyone else she loved, but that she believed Littlefoot would always be watching over her, and she'd always remember all those good times they'd had together.

Cera began to cry. "Oh, Littlefoot," she whispered. "I love you, but why did you have to leave me? I can't go on without you in my life. Memories of all we've been through and knowing you'll be in my heart isn't enough. I wish you could come back…" Cera fell flat on her belly and laid her head on her paws. "A world without you is barely a world worth living in. Oh, I wish this were just some bad sleep story I could wake up from.

"Littlefoot, please come back…" Cera almost wailed.

She buried her face in her front legs and was anything but quiet about crying. She'd come here to get away from everyone, but at this point, Cera didn't care if someone heard her crying. (It was unlikely, though, because no one lived near this region of The Great Valley, and, again, no one could ever predict Cera would come here.)

"Huh?"

Cera looked up. There was no one there, but she could have sworn somebody just whispered "Cera" in her ear. The threehorn looked all around just to see if someone had snuck into the cave unnoticed. But still, there was no one.

So Cera got up and went outside to look around. Nobody there either. "Hello?" Cera called out. "Is anybody here?" No answer. Cera eventually brushed it off as her just hearing things, and went back into the cave. That was when things got weird for Cera. All of a sudden, the cave was much colder now than it was when Cera had left it. But she didn't understand how this could be. The wind wasn't blowing today, and even if it were, how would Cera know if it was when she's at the back of a cave? Whatever was going on, Cera didn't understand one bit of it.

Cera heard someone whisper her name again and spun around in alarm. But when she saw no one for the fourth time, Cera began to get annoyed. "Alright," she yelled, "if someone is there, and thinks this is funny, you'd be better stay hidden. I don't care who you are, I'm not in the mood to deal with someone's stupid pranks."

Cera gasped. She couldn't believe what was happening before her eyes. The unnatural misty wind in the cave began to take familiar shape. Soon, Cera could make out what was forming. A longneck! It was a longneck! And not just any

"Littlefoot!" Cera exclaimed. "It's you!"

"In a way," the ghostly longneck said.

"B-B-But—" Cera stammered. "—what…how are you here?"

"I promised I would always be with you," Littlefoot said, "and be there to comfort you when you are doing through a hard time."

"Like now," Cera whispered.

"I'll be in your heart, Cera," Littlefoot said, "and all of your memories. You'll never be alone."

Cera began to cry again, but in a way, they were not tears of sadness. She was relieved that Littlefoot had come back from beyond life to tell her this himself. "I'll never forget you, Littlefoot," she whispered, "for as long as I live."

"I love you," he said, "and I'll be with you even if you can't see me. If you're ever going through a hard time again, I'll be there to guide you through it."

"What should I do now?" Cera asked. She wiped her tears away with her paw.

"Go back to our friends and your family," Littlefoot said. "Make things right with them. You can do it, I'll be there for you in spirit."

"Don't go, Littlefoot!" Cera cried when he began to fade away. But he vanished as quickly as he'd come. Still, Cera felt more comfort now that he'd come to say what he did. "I love you," she whispered. "Thank you, Littlefoot, for everything you did for me. I'll never forget you, my friend," Cera repeated.

 _And I promise,_ she thought, _that I will make things right with our friends and everyone else, even Dad._

* * *

Mr. Threehorn's eyes become wide suddenly and he nearly lost his balance.

"Whatever's the matter, Topsy?" Tria gasped.

"Not a thing," he answered her. "Look!"

Tria and others turned their heads to the north, then they gasped. "Cera?" Tria said. "It's Cera! She's coming back!"

Even before Mr. Threehorn and Tria could get up, Cera's friends, Thorn, and Tricia were running (or flying, in Petrie and Guido's case) over to her. They all collided with Cera, and the dinosaurs rolled over each other until they were all piled upon Cera. Not one of them could have predicted Cera would be back so soon.

"Cera, you came back!" Ducky cheered. "You did, you did!"

"You can thank Littlefoot for that," Cera replied, almost smiling.

"What?!" Everyone gasped in unison.

"Littlefoot alive!" Petrie screeched.

"He is?" Grandpa and Grandma Longneck said together. "Where is he?"

"Littlefoot came to me in spirit," Cera explained. "I was at Ruby's thinking place when he told me he'd always be watching over us all, and be there if any of us need guidance."

Even Mr. Threehorn was stunned. He'd never believed in such things before, but with the way his daughter described this, he was changing his views fast. Mr. Threehorn had never thought a loved one could visit someone from beyond life, but he couldn't deny now that Littlefoot had just visited Cera. She wouldn't make this up, he knew without a doubt.

"I believe you, Cera," Mr. Threehorn said. Now that was something no one could believe.

Cera tried to get free from under her friends who'd tackled her. They moved one at a time so she could eventually get up. She went over to Mr. Threehorn. "Dad…"

"Yes, Cera?"

"I'm sorry," Cera said. "I should have listened to you and Tria earlier instead of running away. I'm also sorry for all the grief I've caused," she addressed everyone.

"There's nothing you need to apologize for, kid," Sari said.

"But, if I'd never left the valley, two of my friends would still be alive," Cera disagreed.

"You can't blame yourself for what life throws our way," Sari reminded her. "I've said that before, kid. You have to get right back up and keep fighting! That's why I'm still here, and Thorn too. I wasn't about to let blindness get me down, and Thorn wasn't about to let some fast biter stop him from finding you."

"Thank you, Sari," the threehorn whispered. "I needed that."

Cera looked toward the horizon. The Great Circle was setting, and darkness slowly covering the land as it began its descent. To Cera, this not only represented the day's end, but the end of this trial she went through. Cera would not be the same dinosaur from this day on. She'd grown-up so much in just a few days it was almost unbelievable to herself, and everyone else too. Cera was a different dinosaur now.

Something Cera saw in the sky made her gasp. There was a sky puffy, only one in the sky, shaped like a longneck that seemed to be looking at her. Looking at it gave the threehorn comfort.

She had only one thought:

 _Littlefoot._

* * *

 **Author's note:** I was going to write an epilogue to this story today, but I thought after what happened in the previous chapter, I should write one more before I get to the epilogue to soften the impact of Littlefoot's death as much as possible. (The same reason the scene in the original movie with Rooter was added.)

I wanted to give the main part of the story a proper ending before I write the epilogue. I thought it would have been bad to have an epilogue after such a tragic event happened. I'll either write the epilogue tonight or tomorrow morning, if anyone is wondering when the story will be truly complete.


	30. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

A clutch of eggs in the middle of a small nest in the ground.

It was what the female threehorn was waiting on. Today was the day they should hatch. Hard to believe this spot, once her sleeping spot, was now where her first clutch of eggs would be hatching. But Cera had to try and not let her father's recent passing bother her too much. She missed him, but this was supposed to be a happy day.

Cera had woke up just to be sure she didn't miss her eggs hatching. Thorn was still asleep not too far away from the nest. She hoped he and her friends wouldn't miss the hatching. Ducky's clutch of eggs had hatched a few days earlier, giving her a nest full of at least eight little swimmers to watch over with her husband. Petrie had also gotten lucky, but his and his wife's nest of eggs hadn't hatched yet. They lived in the cave where Petrie had lived with his mother and siblings had once lived together before they left the nest to start families of their own. Like Mr. Threehorn, old age had gotten to Petrie's mother. Tria and Ducky's mother were still around though, as was Bron. Littlefoot's grandparents had also passed away, a few months after his sacrifice for Cera.

It'd been over a year since Littlefoot gave his life for Cera, and not a day had passed where Cera didn't think about her best friend. Her grief had gone away, but that didn't stop Cera from missing Littlefoot. Ducky, Petrie, Spike, and her countless other friends (including Guido and the tinysauruses) greatly missed Littlefoot too. Ducky had said there wasn't a night she didn't dream about him coming back to them. The first time she had dreamt that, Ducky had woke with a start just to see if it were real. It was just a dream, Ducky had sadly realized.

Cera gasped. She thought one of the eggs had just stirred as she kept a keen eye on them. Cera watched even more closely, but none of the eggs moved again.

 _I may have been seeing things_ , she thought. _Maybe it wasn't my best decision to wake up so early. Everyone else in the valley is still sleeping._

Cera yawned. "A few minutes won't hurt…" She closed her eyes, then was asleep before she knew it.

* * *

"Cera, wake up!" someone said. It wasn't Thorn. Cera opened her eyes slowly to see it was Ducky.

"Huh?"

"Your eggs, they are hatching!" Ducky exclaimed.

"They are?" Cera gasped. She jumped up, and nearly knocked the swimmer over.

Turning to her nest, the threehorn saw all eight of her eggs shifting at once. Cera gasped again. She looked about to see all of her friends here, even Sari. The tiny sharptooth had, through what had to have been a miracle, regained most of her eyesight over the duration of the past year. Her vision wasn't perfect, but at least Sari could see again. And what she saw touched her once tough heart. One-by-one, the eggs split open, and a threehorn hatchling spilled out of it, crying. They were blind and dripping with the fluids from the egg, but neither of these things stopped the other dinosaurs from commenting about how beautiful the hatchlings were.

"That one looks just like you, Cera" Ducky said. "She does, she does. Yep, yep, yep." Ducky and Petrie may have grown up, but they hadn't outgrown their speech patterns all together. "Some things never changed," Cera had said. "But that's not always a bad thing." Cera wouldn't want Ducky and Petrie's speech patterns to change. She'd gotten too used to them talking they way they did.

"That one look like Thorn," Petrie said.

"I think more of them will look like Cera," Tricia said.

"I won't mind," Thorn said, "if our kids look like this beautiful threehorn."

"Oh, Thorn," Cera giggled. Her face immediately turned red.

But Tria only rolled her eyes. She wondered if her parents had acted like this when she and Cera were kids. (She was glad they had each other though, but Tricia had never been fond of hearing couples talk to each other like this.) If it were anyone else, Tricia probably would have told them to get a room. Tricia would never talk to her older sister and her husband like that, though. Cera had saved her life once, and she'd never be mean to someone who did that for her.

Before anyone knew it, all eight eggs had hatched, and the baby threehorns were crying. Cera was too, but in joy. A year ago, she never would have thought about being a mother. There hadn't been any male threehorns in The Great Valley she loved. Littlefoot had been the closest thing to true love Cera had before she met Thorn.

Cera wanted to nuzzle her children, but she suppressed the urge, knowing that the newborns' bodies were sensitive to touch. Instead, she brushed her head against Thorn's. The only thing Cera would change about this wonderful moment in her life was have Littlefoot here to witness it. But Cera was sure he knew she was a mother now, since he said he'd always be watching over her.

The threehorn looked away from her nest, out across The Great Valley. The Bright Circle was shining brighter than ever, it seemed, and it made the valley appear more beautiful than it already was. The light made bodies of water in the valley shimmer, and there was not a cloud in the sky to ruin this perfect spring day.

"This is the most beautiful spring day I've ever seen," Cera remarked suddenly.

"I agree," Ducky said. "Yep, yep, yep."

"Me too," Petrie said.

"I've never seen a spring day like this before," Thorn said. "The Mysterious Beyond never changed. It was always desert everywhere you want. But that's all behind me now."

Thorn knew he'd never see The Mysterious Beyond again. He had a wife and children now, and they had no reason to leave The Great Valley. He believed life would be perfect from here on out. Red Claw was gone and the two fast biters who used to follow his orders redeemed themselves. Things couldn't be better in The Great Valley or The Mysterious Beyond. Sharpteeth and leaf-eaters alike had no one to live in fear of, and some believed there would never be another sharptooth like Red Claw. Red Claw had no spouse or offspring before he died. His cruelty would not be passed onto anyone's children, and died with him.

Cera snapped out of her thoughts when Ducky, Spike, Petrie, Tricia, and Sari came up beside her on either side. It was this action that made Cera realize everything wasn't as perfect as she'd thought it was. It wasn't Littlefoot and Ruby not being here that brought her to this realization. It was Chomper's absence that did. He was still on good terms with everyone in the valley, but the day had come when Chomper decided he should leave The Great Valley. Everyone had begged him not to leave, still believing he'd never hurt anyone, but Chomper had grown up just like the rest of his friends. Chomper said he'd never want to hurt somewhere when the day came instinct got the better of him, and he'd do something he regretted. Chomper didn't want to hurt those he cared about. Everyone missed him about as much as they missed Littlefoot, Ruby, Mr. Threehorn, and Littlefoot's grandparents, even though he was still living.

"Is something the matter?" Ducky asked. She'd always been able to tell when someone had something on their mind, especially Cera.

"No," Cera said. "I just thought about Chomper. I miss him."

"Me too," Ducky said. "I do not think he would ever hurt us, even if he is grown-up now. Chomper has known everyone here too long to hurt anyone, even if it would become instinct for him to hunt other dinosaurs."

"I think that is why Chomper left," Sari said. "He wouldn't hurt us, yes, but at the same time, he didn't want to be the only resident in The Great Valley who ate other dinosaurs. A part of me can understand where he's coming from, even if I mostly eat ground crawlers and berries."

"I don't miss him any less, though," Cera said. "Chomper and I were close, regardless of anything I said about him when we were younger."

Tricia would say something that would surprise everyone with how true it was. "I don't think you should brood over the past right now," she said. "Your eggs just hatched. This is a joyous time, not a time to think about things that make you sad."

Cera blinked. Since when had her little sister learned to talk like that? "You know what," she said. "Tricia's right. Thorn and I just became parents, we shouldn't be anything other than happy right now. It's an especially beautiful day, and I shouldn't let anything get me down on a day like this."

* * *

 **Author's note:** I was going to go beyond this last thing Cera said, but I thought it would actually just be better to end it here after giving it some thought. So here's the end of this story.


End file.
